Jeroen Saeij

Professor

Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology

Office
3325 VM3A, Davis, CA 95616

Education
1995, B.Sc., Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
1997, M.Sc., Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
2002, Ph.D., Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Active Research Grants
Principal Investigator, Identification of Toxoplasma genes that mediate its colonization of the eye, (Principal Investigator), NIH/NEI
Principal Investigator, Identify Toxoplasma genes that determine in vivo fitness with CRISRP-Cas9 genetic screens, (Principal Investigator), NIH/NIAID
Principal Investigator, Synthetic lethality screens in a nutrient sensitized Toxoplasma strain to identify novel proteins that mediate nutrient acquisition in chronic Toxoplasma infection, (Principal Investigator), NIH/NIAID
Principal Investigator, Identification of the mechanism by which Toxoplasma activates the NLRP1 inflammasome , (Principal Investigator), NIH/NIAID
Principal Investigator, Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9-mediated loss-of-function screens to identify Toxoplasma genes that determine fitness in gamma interferon-stimulated human cells, (Principal Investigator), NIH/NIAID
Principal Investigator, Toxoplasma sporozoite genes that determine environmental resistance and invasion of host cells., (Principal Investigator), NIH/NIAID
Principal Investigator, Mechanisms of host leukocyte-mediated Toxoplasma dissemination in its host, (Principal Investigator), NIH/NIAID
Trainer, Toxoplasma effector-mediated modulation of innate immune pathways in non-murine macrophages, Yifan Wang (Principal Investigator), NIH/NIAID
Research Focus
Molecular basis of pathogenesis of Apicomplexan parasites in humans and livestock. Apicomplexan parasites are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in humans and livestock. These intracellular parasites secrete proteins that act on host cell signaling pathways to create the niche in which they can replicate. In turn, host cells have intricate mechanisms to detect and combat these parasites. As a consequence these parasites and their hosts co-evolve, leading to variation in both host and parasite genomes and to the emergence of differences in parasite virulence and host resistance. I am interested in how the interactions between parasite and host can lead to disease with a special interest in the genetic basis for individual host differences in resistance and parasite differences in virulence. A major effort of my lab is to identify genes from a model apicomplexan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, that mediate the modulation of the host cell and to characterize the proteins encoded by these Toxoplasma genes, their host cell interaction partners and their role in virulence and co-option of the host cell. We also study host genetic factors involved in resistance to Toxoplasma. We try and apply what we have learned from our work with Toxoplasma to veterinary diseases caused by other apicomplexan parasites such as Neospora spp. and Sarcocystis neurona.
Specialty Focus
Genetics, Genomics, Parasitology, Immunology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology, Human Disease, Animal Disease.
Ten Recent Publications

2022
Rico-San Román L, Amieva R, Regidor-Cerrillo J, García-Sánchez M, Collantes-Fernández E, Pastor-Fernández I, Saeij JPJ, Ortega-Mora LM, Horcajo P
NcGRA7 and NcROP40 Play a Role in the Virulence of Neospora caninum in a Pregnant Mouse Model

2021
Arranz-Solís D, Mukhopadhyay D, Saeij JPJ^
Toxoplasma Effectors that Affect Pregnancy Outcome

2021
Tomita T, Mukhopadhyay D, Han B, Yakubu R, Tu V, Mayoral J, Sugi T, Ma Y, Saeij JPJ, Weiss LM
Toxoplasma gondii Matrix Antigen 1 Is a Secreted Immunomodulatory Effector

2021
Glausen TG, Carrillo GL, Jin RM, Boyle JP, Saeij JPJ, Wohlfert EA, Fox MA, Blader IJ
The Toxoplasma Polymorphic Effector GRA15 Mediates Seizure Induction by Modulating Interleukin-1 Signaling in the Brain.

2021
Sangaré LO, Wang Y, Arranz-Solís D, Saeij JPJ^
CRISPR screen to determine the in vivo fitness of Toxoplasma genes.

2020
Wang Y, Sangaré LO, Paredes-Santos TC, Hassan MA, Krishnamurthy S, Furuta AM, Markus BM, Lourido S, Saeij JPJ^
Genome-wide screens identify Toxoplasma gondii determinants of parasite fitness in IFN?-activated murine macrophages