My research interest revolve around the biology of Leishmania parasites. I have been focused in my work on parasite differentiation in the sand fly (metacylcogenesis) and have invetigated potential key roles of the HASP and SHERP genes from the cDNA16 locus in L. (L.) major metacyclogenesis in the sand fly midgut. More recently, I have been investigating the potential role of the host immune system in the promotion of outward transmission of L. (L.) donovani (LV9) to sand flies in visceral leishmaniasis. My focus is on the role CD4 and CD8 T cells in this process and I am using the C57Bl/6 and RAG mutant models for the analysis. In particular, the host skin is of interest to me as it is the interphase between host and sand fly.