Laura J. Knoll

Professor, Dept. Medical Microbiology & Immunology, UW-Madison 1550 Linden Drive (608) 262-3161 3303 Microbial Sciences Building ljknoll@wisc.edu

Department Webpage

https://mmi.wisc.edu/staff/knoll-laura/

Education

• B.A. - 1989; Saint Olaf College; Northfield, MN
• Ph.D. - 1994; Washington University School of Medicine; St. Louis, MO
• Postdoctoral Research- Stanford University; Stanford, CA

Research Interests

Molecular parasitology; Vaccine development for the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii

Research Focus

Our research centers on studying the host/pathogen interactions of the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii. T. gondii is well known for causing encephalitis in immunocompromised patients and is a member of the coccidian family of parasites that include Plasmodium (causative agent of malaria) and Cryptosporidium (causative agent of diarrhea). My laboratory uses the latest technologies, including next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry, to uncover the parasite and host genes that are necessary for the establishment and maintenance of chronic infection in animals. We then use biochemistry, molecular and cell biology to define the how and why these pathogen and host genes are important.

Recent Publications

• Hryckowian ND, Zinda C, Park SC, Kelty MT, Knoll LJ 2024. Host cell-specific metabolism of linoleic acid controls growth in cell culture. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology : PMC8754478
• Hryckowian ND, Knoll LJ 2024. Sex in a dish: high-efficiency Toxoplasma pre-sexual development. Trends in parasitology 40((3)):209-210 PMC6701743
• John SV, Seim GL, Erazo-Flores BJ, Steill J, Freeman J, Votava JA, Arp NL, Qing X, Stewart R, Knoll LJ, Fan J 2024. Macrophages undergo functionally significant reprograming of nucleotide metabolism upon classical activation. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology : PMC4055029
• Owens LA, Friant S, Martorelli Di Genova B, Knoll LJ, Contreras M, Noya-Alarcon O, Dominguez-Bello MG, Goldberg TL 2024. VESPA: an optimized protocol for accurate metabarcoding-based characterization of vertebrate eukaryotic endosymbiont and parasite assemblages. Nature communications 15((1)):402 PMC2777867
• Ramírez-Flores CJ, Erazo Flores BJ, Tibabuzo Perdomo AM, Barnes KL, Wilson SK, Mendoza Cavazos C, Knoll LJ 2023. A lipoxygenase-like enzyme is necessary for virulence and changes localization associated with the host immune response. mBio 14((5)):e0127923 PMC3156017
• Gallego-López GM, Guzman EC, Knoll LJ, Skala M 2023. Metabolic changes to host cells with infection. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology : PMC4311848
• Mendoza Cavazos C, Heredia MY, Owens LA, Knoll LJ 2023. Using To Model Fecal-Oral Transmission of in Mice. mBio 14((1)):e0300822 PMC2696921
• Humayun M, Ayuso JM, Park KY, Martorelli Di Genova B, Skala MC, Kerr SC, Knoll LJ, Beebe DJ 2022. Innate immune cell response to host-parasite interaction in a human intestinal tissue microphysiological system. Science advances 8((18)):eabm8012 PMC9075809
• Humayun M, Ayuso JM, Park KY, Martorelli Di Genova B, Skala MC, Kerr SC, Knoll LJ, Beebe DJ 2022. Innate immune cell response to host-parasite interaction in a human intestinal tissue microphysiological system. Science advances 8((18)):eabm8012
• Ramírez-Flores CJ, Tibabuzo Perdomo AM, Gallego-López GM, Knoll LJ 2022. Transcending Dimensions in Apicomplexan Research: from Two-Dimensional to Three-Dimensional Cultures. Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR 86((2)):e0002522 PMC5947782
• View all Publications @ PubMed