Dr. Nisha Philip
Lecturer in Infection

- Institute of Immunology and Infection Research
Contact details
- Tel: 0131 6517780
- Email: nphilip@ed.ac.uk
- Web: Philip Lab
Address
- Street
-
Ashworth Laboratories 2, Rm3.11
- City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH9 3FL
Qualifications
Ph.D. , Dept. of Pharmacology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
M.S. , Dept. of Biology, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, USA
M.Sc. , Dept. of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India
B.Sc. , Dept. of Biochemistry, Delhi University, New Delhi, India
Research summary
Malaria threatens around 400 million people globally and results in over 0.5 million deaths annually, thereby continuing to be a major public health problem. In the absence of an effective vaccine, emerging drug resistant strains are of grave concern and consequently, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutics. To tackle this problem, we use the rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei, to understand function of key players crucial to parasite development and transmission. Two areas of research focus include:
Organisation of signaling pathways during malaria parasite infection and transmission
Protein phosphorylation and ubiquitination play a central role in numerous signalling pathways critical to cell proliferation and development. In Plasmodium, the causal agent of malaria, these pathways are critical for its development and virulence, but the associated regulatory signalling networks are poorly understood.
Using state of the art proteomic, chemical genetic and bioinformatics tools we intend to systematically define functional signaling networks regulated by phosphorylation and ubiquitin modulating enzymes during two key stages of the malaria parasite life cycle: host cell infection and host-to-mosquito transmission.
RNA binding proteins mediated regulation of Plasmodium development
The malaria parasite has a complex life cycle requiring both a mammalian host and mosquito vector. Almost 200 RNA binding proteins (RBPs) are expressed at distinct stages of Plasmodium lifecyle where they are implicated in both parasite development, and host-to-vector and vector-to-host transitions. We recently identified a family of RBPs which play crucial roles in parasite growth in the host erythrocyte and development of the mosquito infective form. We aim to understand how these RBPs are regulated and what RNA molecules they regulate.
Publications
- Cox A, Krishnankutty N, Shave S, Howick VM, Auer M, La Clair JJ, and Nisha Philip. Repositioning brusatol as a transmission blocker of the malaria parasite. ACS Infectious Disease. October 2024 (PMID: 39352879).
- Darif ND, Ganter M, Dziekan JM, Kilian N, Brancucci N, Ng C, de Vries LE, Guttery D, Nisha Philip, Boddey JA, Metwally NG, Okumu F, Kooij TWA, Absalon S, Bryant JM. BioMalPar XX: looking back on, and forward from, 20 years of malaria research. Trends Parasitol. 2024 Aug 40(8):651-656. (PMID: 39013661)
- Dalhuisen T, Plenderleith LJ, Ursani I, Nisha Philip, Hahn BH, Sharp PM. Unusually divergent ubiquitin genes and proteins in Plasmodium species. Genome Biol Evol. 2023 Jul 22 (PMID: 37481258).
- Nisha Philip, April 2022. The quest for control. Cell Host and Microbe, Vol 30: 471-74. (PMID: 35421346).
- Johnson N and Nisha Philip, Sept 2021. Beyond phosphorylation: putative roles of post-translational modifications in Plasmodium sexual stages? Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology. (PMID: 34324911)
- Patil H, Hughes KR, Lemgruber L, Nisha Philip, Dickens N, Starnes GL, Waters AP (2020). Zygote morphogenesis but not the establishment of cell polarity in Plasmodium berghei is controlled by the small GTPase, RAB11A. PLOS Pathogens, May 2020 (PMID: 32463831)
- Kent RS, Modrzynska KM, Cameron R, Nisha Philip, Billker O, Waters AP (2018). Inducible developmental reprogramming redefines commitment to sexual development by malaria parasites. Nature Microbiology, 3(11):1206-1213.
- Brancucci NMB, Gerdt JP, Wang C, De Niz M, Nisha Philip, Adapa SR et al (2017). Lysophosphatidylcholine Regulates Sexual Stage Differentiation in the Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Cell, 171(7):1532-1544.
- Srivastava A, Nisha Philip, Hughes KR, Georgiou K, MacRae JI, Barrett MP, Creek DJ, McConville MJ, Waters AP. (2016) Stage-specific changes in Plasmodium metabolism required for differentiation and adaptation to different host and vector environments PLOS Pathogens, Dec 27;12(12):e1006094.
- *Nisha Philip# and Waters AP#. (2015). Conditional degradation of Plasmodium Calcineurin reveals functions in parasite colonization of both host and vector. Cell Host and Microbe, 18(1): 122-131. # Corresponding author.
- Nisha Philip and Waters AP. (2013). Unveiling the Malaria Parasite’s Cloak of Invisibility. Science, 340: 936-37
- Nisha Philip, Orr R, Waters AP. (2013). Transfection of malaria parasites. Methods in Molecular Biology. 923: 99-125
- Nisha Philip#, Vaikkinen HJ, Tetley L, Waters AP#. (2012). A unique Kelch domain phosphatase in Plasmodium regulates ookinete morphology, motility and invasion. PLOS One, 9:e44617.
- LaMonte G*, Nisha Philip*, Reardon J, Lacsina JR, Majoros W, Thornburg CD, Telen MJ, Ohler U, Nicchitta CV, Haystead T, Chi JT. (2012). Translocation of sickle cell erythrocyte microRNAs into Plasmodium falciparum inhibits parasite translation and contributes to malaria resistance. Cell Host and Microbe, 12(2): 187-99. *Co-first authors.
- Orr RY, Nisha Philip, Waters AP. (2012). Improved negative selection protocol for Plasmodium berghei in the rodent malarial model. Malar Journal. 11:103
- Hughes KR*, Nisha Philip*, Starnes GL*, Taylor S*, Waters AP. (2010). From cradle to grave: RNA biology in malaria parasites. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews RNA. 2:287-303. *Co-first authors
- *Nisha Philip and Haystead TA. (2007) Characterization of a UBC13 kinase in Plasmodium falciparum. PNAS, USA. May 8;104(19):7845-50. The first study in malaria parasites demonstrating cross-talk between phosphorylation and ubiquitination pathways.
- Nisha Philip and Haystead TA. (2006). Affinity Purification with Natural Immobilized Ligands. Cell Biology: A Laboratory Handbook. Vol. 4: 265-267
- Gurley SB, Allred A, Le TH, Griffiths R, Mao L, Nisha Philip, Haystead TA, Donoghue M, Breitbart RE, Acton SL, Rockman HA, and Coffman TM. (2006) Altered blood pressure responses and normal cardiac phenotype in ACE2-null mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation. August 1; 116(8): 2218–2225
- Nisha Philip, Acevedo S, and Skoulakis EM. (2001). Conditional Rescue of Olfactory Learning and Memory Defects in Mutants of the 14-3-3 Gene Leonardo. The Journal of Neuroscience, 21(21):8417-8425