Dr Maria Adelaida Duque-Correa

My research focuses on understanding host-parasite interactions that enable whipworm invasion, colonisation and persistence in the intestinal epithelia.

Maria’s research interests include infectious diseases, host-pathogen interaction and immunology. These interests led her to study tuberculosis, Chagas disease and trichuriasis. Trichuriasis is a major neglected tropical disease, affecting 500 million people worldwide, and caused by infection with whipworms. Whipworms are large parasites that live inside the gut lining. Whipworms remain in their host for years by interacting with the gut lining and surrounding cells to manipulate gut structure and immune responses. How the parasite mediates these interactions is not understood. Maria’s lab aims to determine how whipworms invade, colonise and persist in the gut. Using a new model she developed based on “mini-guts”, the first to mimic whipworm infections in a lab dish, together with microscopy and sequencing, they are characterising: 1) the molecular and cellular changes that happen in the whipworm and the gut lining and surrounding cells when the parasite enters and colonises the gut and; 2) the interactions that allow the parasite to persist and the gut lining to repair during chronic infections. This knowledge will open new avenues to eradicate whipworm infections and control gut inflammatory diseases.