Mohammed  Shahabuddin (deceased)

Edit Delete Profile created on 07/02/2005   M.Sc.: Biochemistry, Dhaka University (DU), Bangladesh Ph.D.: University of Edinburgh, Scotland Post Doctorate: Postdoc at NIH investigating on transmission of malarial parasites by insects Present Position: Faculty member, Boston College

E-mail:

Website: http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/biology/facadmin/shahab/

Remarks: Passed away on the morning of September 21, 2006

Area of Specialization : transgenic insect and gene microarray technology

Achievement : Dr. M. Shahabuddin and his coworkers showed that the chitinase enzyme secreted by the malaria parasite is required for its escape from the blood bolus. Their research studies have revealed that blocking of chitinase activity in the mosquito midgut arrests Plasmodium development in the mosquito. This valuable finding made the chitinase a candidate for developing a malaria transmission blocking vaccine. Subsequently in a series of studies they described the cellular compositions of Aedes aegypti mosquito midgut. They discovered that a carbohydrate-mediated ligand helps the avian malaria model parasite, Plasmodium gallinaceum adhere to the midgut epithelium. Another interesting observation they made was that the parasite preferentially invades a specific cell type in the mosquito midgut. Their subsequent researches enabled them to discover a novel differential partitioning of maternal lipids in mosquito, where phospholipids are accumulated in the larval intestine.

Latest Publications :

     Georgia Atella and Mohammed Shahabuddin, (2002) Differential partitioning of maternal fatty acid and phospholipid in neonate mosquito larvae. J. exptl. Biol. 205: 3623-3630.

     Mario Silva Neto, Georgia Atella and Mohammed Shahabuddin (2002) Inhibition of Ca2+-Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase blocks morphological differentiation of Plasmodium gallinaceum zygote to ookinete. J Biol. Chem. 277(16): 14085-14091.

     Mohammed Shahabuddin, (2002) Do Plasmodium ookinetes invade a specific cell type in the mosquito midgut? Trends in Parasitology. 18:157-161.

     Mohammed Shahabuddin and Adriana Costero (2001) Spatial distribution of factors that determine sporogonic development of malaria parasites in mosquitoes. Insect Biochem and Mol. Biol. 31: 231-240.

     David Schneider and Mohammed Shahabuddin (2000) Malaria parasite development in a Drosophila model. Science 288: 2376-2379.