Major: Microbiology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Maria Castillo

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Research Project Summary:

Schistosoma mansoni is a parasite that causes schistosomiasis, a disease affecting approximately people in ~78 countries worldwide. This parasite uses the fresh water snail Biomphalaria glabrata as a vector to grow and feed. It is then transmitted by humans, generally through contact in various water sources. It is very important for us to understand how hemocytes (immune cells of the snail) can fight this parasite. Specifically, we need to understand how the hemocytes of a resistant snail can overcome the parasite, while the hemocytes of a susceptible snail cannot.

My project focuses in trying to answer the question of why hemocytes behave differently in susceptible snails compared to resistant. To answer this question, we will investigate and compare physiological characteristics in hemocytes from botrh snail strains, this includes number of cells per uL, morphology and size. In addition, we want to compare the behavior of the hemocytes when placed on glass slides under control conditions and when exposed to parasite secreted products. The data that we obtains will help us get a clearer idea of why different snail strains react differently when infected with schistosoma parasites.