Professor

Molecular Microbiology & Immunology Department, School of Public Health
Deputy Director, Johns Hopkins Malaria Institute

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

The Sinnis Laboratory studies the sporozoite stage of Plasmodium, the infectious stage of the malaria parasite, inoculated by mosquitoes into the mammalian host. The impressive journey of sporozoites, from the midgut wall of the mosquito where they emerge from oocysts, to their final destination in the mammalian liver, is the major focus of our investigations. Using classic biochemistry, mutational analysis, intravital imaging, and proteomics, we aim to understand the molecular interactions between sporozoites and their mosquito and mammalian hosts that lead to the establishment of malaria infection.

Biophysics and Structural Biology | Cell Biology | Cellular Stress and Cell Signaling | Immunology and Infectious Diseases

Selected Publications

Hopp CS, Kanatani S, Archer NK, Miller RJ, Liu H, Chiou KK, Miller LS, Sinnis P. Comparative intravital imaging of human and rodent malaria sporozoites reveals the skin is not a species-specific barrier. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2021.

Aleshnick M, Ganusov VV, Nasir G, Yenokyan G, Sinnis P. Experimental determination of the force of malaria infection reveals a non-linear relationship to mosquito sporozoite loads. PLoS Pathogens, 2020.

Flores-Garcia Y, Nasir G, Hopp CS, Munoz C, Balaban AE, Zavala F, Sinnis P. Antibody-Mediated Protection against Plasmodium Sporozoites Begins at the Dermal Inoculation Site. mBio, 2018.

Hopp CS, Chiou K, Ragheb DR, Salman A, Khan SM, Liu AJ, Sinnis P. Longitudinal analysis of Plasmodium sporozoite motility in the dermis reveals component of blood vessel recognition. eLife, 2015.

Coppi A, Natarajan R, Pradel G, Bennett BL, James ER, Roggero MA, Corradin G, Persson C, Tewari R, Sinnis P. The malaria circumsporozoite protein has two functional domains, each with distinct roles as sporozoites journey from mosquito to mammalian host. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2011.

Learn More

NCBI Bibliography | Faculty Profile | Lab Website | ResearchGate | Google Scholar