Sara Mfarrej

PhD Students

PhD Student

Current

Location:

B2/L4-4850

Social Profile:

Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying Plasmodium falciparum blood-stage egress and invasion, two essential processes driving parasite proliferation and malaria disease progression. We investigate conserved hypothetical proteins that may play critical roles in parasite survival using conditional gene disruption with the DiCre/CRISPR-Cas9 system. Candidate proteins are functionally characterized through phenotypic and localization studies, gene-expression profiling, and proteomic interactome analysis. Ultimately, promising targets are evaluated for translational potential through recombinant protein purification, antibody generation, and growth-inhibition studies, with the aim of identifying novel targets for improving malaria intervention strategies.

Selected Publications

  • AK Subudhi, JL Green, R Satyam, RP Salunke, T Lenz, M Shuaib, et al., DNA-binding protein PfAP2-P regulates parasite pathogenesis during malaria parasite blood stages, Nature Microbiology, 1-16, 2023, 10.1038/s41564-023-01497-6
  • M Shuaib, S Adroub, T Mourier, S Mfarrej, H Zhang, L Esau, A Alsomali, et al., Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid 203K/204R mutations on the inflammatory immune response in COVID-19 severity, Genome Medicine, 15 (1), 54, 2023, 10.1186/s13073-023-01208-0
  • M Haidar, S Tajeri, L Momeux, T Mourier, F Ben-Rached, S Mfarrej, et al., miR-34c-3p Regulates Protein Kinase A Activity Independent of cAMP by Dicing prkar2b Transcripts in Theileria annulata-Infected Leukocytes, Msphere, 8 (2), e00526-22, 2023, 10.1128/msphere.00526-22
  • A Zuccolo, S Mfarrej, M Celii, S Mussurova, LF Rivera, V Llaca, et al., The gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) genome, G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics 13 (3), jkad001, 2023, 10.1093/g3journal/jkad001
  • S Tajeri, L Momeux, B Saintpierre, S Mfarrej, A Chapple, T Mourier, et al., Theileria annulata histone deacetylase 1 (TaHDAC1) initiates schizont to merozoite stage conversion, Scientific Reports, 12 (1), 12710, 2022, 10.1038/s41598-022-15518-7
  • Q Guan, B Alhuthali, S Mfarrej, MA Halim, RS Almaghrabi, A Pain, Metagenomics-driven rapid diagnosis of an imported fatal case of rare amoebic meningoencephalitis, Journal of Travel Medicine, 29 (4), taab172, 2022, 10.1093/jtm/taab172
  • A Kaushik, DP Roberts, A Ramaprasad, S Mfarrej, M Nair, DK Lakshman, et al., Pangenome analysis of the soilborne fungal phytopathogen Rhizoctonia solani and development of a comprehensive web resource: RsolaniDB, Frontiers in microbiology, 13, 839524, 2022, 10.3389/fmicb.2022.839524
  • Q Guan, M Garbati, S Mfarrej, T AlMutairi, T Laval, A Singh, S Fagbo, et al., Insights into the ancestry evolution of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from analysis of Mycobacterium riyadhense, NAR genomics and bioinformatics, 3 (3), lqab070, 2021, 10.1093/nargab/lqab070
  • F Gonzalez, J Johny, WB Walker III, Q Guan, S Mfarrej, J Jakše, et al., Antennal transcriptome sequencing and identification of candidate chemoreceptor proteins from an invasive pest, the American palm weevil, Rhynchophorus palmarum, Scientific reports, 11 (1), 8334, 2021, 10.1038/s41598-021-96402-8
  • C Bi, G Ramos-Mandujano, Y Tian, S Hala, J Xu, S Mfarrej, CR Esteban, et al., Simultaneous detection and mutation surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and multiple respiratory viruses by rapid field-deployable sequencing, Med, 2 (6), 689-700. e4, 2021, 10.1016/j.medj.2021.03.015
  • G Ramos‐Mandujano, R Salunke, S Mfarrej, AT Rachmadi, S Hala, J Xu, et al., A robust, safe, and scalable magnetic nanoparticle workflow for RNA extraction of pathogens from clinical and wastewater samples, Global Challenges, 5 (4), 2000068, 2021, 10.1002/gch2.202000068
  • GR Mandujano, RP Salunke, S Mfarrej, AT Rachmadi, S Hala, J Xu, et al., A Robust, Safe, and Scalable Magnetic Nanoparticle Workflow for RNA Extraction of Pathogens from Clinical and Wastewater Samples, Wiley, 2021, 10.1002/gch2.202000068
  • Q Guan, M Sadykov, S Mfarrej, S Hala, R Naeem, R Nugmanova, et al., A genetic barcode of SARS-CoV-2 for monitoring global distribution of different clades during the COVID-19 pandemic, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 100, 216-223, 2020, 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.08.052
  • K Tretina, M Haidar, SA Madsen-Bouterse, T Sakura, S Mfarrej, L Fry, et al., Theileria parasites subvert E2F signaling to stimulate leukocyte proliferation, Scientific reports, 10 (1), 3982, 2020, 10.1038/s41598-020-60939-x
  • Z Rchiad, M Haidar, HR Ansari, S Tajeri, S Mfarrej, F Ben Rached, et al., Novel tumour suppressor roles for GZMA and RASGRP1 in Theileria annulata‐transformed macrophages and human B lymphoma cells, Cellular Microbiology, 22 (12), e13255, 2020
  • C Bi, G Ramos Mandujano, S Hala, J Xu, S Mfarrej, FS Alofi, A Khogeer, et al., Multiplex Isothermal Amplification Coupled with Nanopore Sequencing for Rapid Detection and Mutation Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2020

Education

  • Masters degree in Microbiology, Wagner College, New York, 2016
  • Bachelors degree in Biology, Wagner College, New York, 2014

Research Interests Keywords

Genomics