Graduate Student

To contact Paul,   paul-grandgenett@uiowa.edu

Paul graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Nebraska before starting his graduate career at the University of Iowa.  He is currently in his fourth year of his Genetics Ph.D. work in the Donelson lab.

Paul is currently studying the Trypanosoma cruzi  homologue of the GP63 metalloprotease, which has been shown to be involved in resistance to host cell complement, attachment to macrophages, and intracellular survivability in Leishmania.  Eight unique T. cruzi GP63 genes have been identified thus far with differential expression of one gene family in the intracellular life cycle stage.  Further evaluation of T. cruzi GP63 gene and protein expression patterns will allow for a more complete characterization of T. cruzi GP63 in each life cycle stage of the parasite.

Current Publications.

Grandgenett, P.M., Coughlin, B.C., Kirchhoff, L.V., and Donelson, J.E. (2000). Differential Expression of GP63 Genes in Trypanosoma cruzi. Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. (in press). Abstract.