The Institut Pasteur-UCSF QBI Center of Excellence in Emerging Infectious Diseases Seminar Series presents Najma Rachidi, the Head of the Signaling and Host-Parasite Interactions Group at Institut Pasteur who specializes in protein kinase.

Dr. Rachidi did her PhD in Montpellier, focusing on the genomic plasticity of wine yeasts and its influence on gene expression. Subsequently, she pursued two postdoctoral fellowships, delving into the roles of protein kinases in yeast cell division, at the University of Dundee with Professor Michael Stark and at the Paterson Cancer Research Center in Manchester with Dr Iain Hagan. Transitioning to parasitology and drug discovery, Dr. Rachidi validated Leishmania casein kinase 1 as a promising drug target for antileishmanial therapy at the station Biologique de Roscoff with Dr Laurent Meijer. She joined the Institut Pasteur in 2012 and has since been actively engaged in unraveling the complexities of host-pathogen interactions with her team. Their primary objectives include understanding how Leishmania, an intracellular parasite, evades immune cells defenses to ensure its survival and devising innovative therapeutic strategies against Leishmaniasis. The team focus revolves around investigating secreted Leishmania signaling proteins, particularly Leishmania casein kinase 1.2, which act in "trans" to modulate the host cell signaling. Using this knowledge, they develop novel host-directed approaches for anti-leishmanial drug therapy.

Talk Title: Omics Approaches to Unravel Leishmania-Macrophage Interactions: Role of Secreted Leishmania Casein Kinase 1 in Macrophage Signalling Subversion

Host: Danielle Swaney