STH - E4 Dr. Kirk Deitsch

Dr. Kirk Deitsch is a microbiologist/immunologist and professor of microbiology and immunology at the Weill Cornell Medical College. His research focuses on Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent of the parasites that cause malaria in humans. P. falciparum infects red blood cells, causing disease through anemia resulting from red cell destruction, and also through modifications that are made to the surface of infected red cells. Two of the processes Dr. Deitsch studies in this parasite are its cytoadhesion and antigenic variation, which are among the reasons P. falciparum is so deadly - we discuss both in this episode. Visit his lab page for more information: Deitsch Lab