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A tiny worm and our understanding of human diseases

4 May 2017

Since January, the Malaghan Institute has been home to two visiting researchers from France’s prestigious Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy. Drs Nathalie Pujol and Jonathan Ewbank have brought with them their great expertise on a tiny nematode worm called C. elegans. Their knowledge of the genetic and cellular processes of this worm has been proven to be of the utmost value to understand similar processes in humans.

“The labs here are world-class, which allows us to run unique experiments. I’m enjoying spending so much time at the bench!” said Dr Ewbank. For Dr Pujol, this visit is all about collaboration, “The mutual exchange of ideas is key to advancing science. Merging our long-standing experience of nematode genetics and cell biology with the Malaghan scientists’ understanding of the immune response to parasitic worms provides a new and unique direction for this exciting collaborative research.”