Dawsonlab

How does cytoskeletal complexity evolve to enable diverse organelle forms and functions? We study how the diplomonad parasite Giardia and free-living relatives build and regulate their unusual or elaborate microtubule (MT) organelles using both conserved and novel MT-associated proteins.

We are a collaborative group of scientists working with Scott C. Dawson in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of California Davis.

Check out the DawsonLab’s publications — including our recent use of CRISPR-based genetic tools to create knockdowns and knockouts in the double diploid Giardia (and see our recent review of Giardia genetic tools).

Giardiasis, a widespread diarrheal disease caused by the parasite Giardia lamblia, affects over a billion people globally. Once ingested, Giardia cysts activate in the gut, transforming into trophozoites that attach to the intestinal lining using a specialized "ventral disc." Our research focuses on understanding the biophysical mechanisms behind Giardia attachment and how this process damages the host gastrointestinal epithelium.