The Treeck Laboratory | The Cell Biology of Host - Pathogen Interactions
August 2025: Welcome Elena
Elena joined the lab for a Master Thesis Project supervised by Steph. She pursues her Master studies at the Technical University of Munich and fell in love with gametocytes during her bachelor thesis project in the Ankarklev lab at Stockholm University. Welcome to the lab Elena!
June 2025: GIMM Parasitology Day
The whole parasitology community at GIMM got together in Oeiras. We had a day full of exciting science, networking, and discussions about the future of the parasitology community at GIMM and in Portugal. And now we all know how to represent infectious diseases using emojis 🐔🔫👍 Thanks to all the speakers and participants for making it a success - to be repeated...
June 2025: Preprint Alert
What happens when the parasite that causes malaria in humans experiences fever-induced heat stress in its host red blood cell?
Check out our latest preprint. Congrats to David and all coauthors.
May 2025: Paper Alert
Congratulations to Hugo and all coauthors for their publication in Nature Microbiology on the FIKK kinase family of the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
One million years ago, a bird-infecting Plasmodium species crossed into great apes. A single, non-exported FIKK kinase gained an export element and rapidly expanded into 15–21 atypical, exported Ser/Thr effector kinases. These kinases then developed different functions and target different host pathways. Remarkably, one even evolved the rare ability to phosphorylate tyrosine, a modification previously unknown in malaria parasites. Despite their differences, all FIKK kinases are inhibited by a single compound - a novel antimalarial treatment strategy?
April 2025: Lab Retreat Troia
What's better than scientific discussions next to the pool, a lab quiz that required all our senses, and the tension before the roller shutter opens?!
We definitely have new wind in our sails after our lab retreat! Looking forward to another year on the verge of discovery!
