Date

March 28, 2025

Time

12:00 pm

Location

ESC 2144

Host: N. Mideo

Abstract: Malaria is one of the leading causes of death among infectious diseases, and as with many diseases, parasite evolution remains a key obstacle to its control. My research centers
three factors: vaccination, drug treatment, and immunodeficiency, that all shape parasite evolution. In my first chapter, I identified the parasite traits underlying previously observed vaccine-driven evolution of increased virulence by fitting a within-host mathematical model to experimental data. In my second chapter, I investigate the parasite traits underlying immunodeficiency-driven evolution of increased virulence. I employ the same methods as chapter 1 to identify the traits that evolved and add to the broader context about whether evolution in immunodeficient hosts facilitates adaptation to immunocompetent hosts. For my third chapter, I investigate the consequences of antimalarial drug treatment on pre-existing genetic variation in the population. Overall, my thesis adds to our understanding of how diDerent host environments shape parasite evolution, often in ways that cannot be predicted by standard theoretical models of evolution.