Associate Professor
MBRB 2340C
Molecular epidemiology of malaria
Research
Jessica Lin is an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and a principal investigator in the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Lab at UNC (ideelresearch.org). Her research lies at the interface of clinical and molecular studies on malaria. She has published widely on the emergence of multi-drug resistant malaria in Southeast Asia. Her current projects focus on 1) determinants of malaria transmission from human hosts to mosquitos and 2) the epidemiology and relapse patterns of Plasmodium ovale in East Africa.
Human-to-mosquito transmission of malaria: Efforts to eliminate malaria altogether hinge on the ability to prevent transmission. We showed that single dose primaquine added to ACT is effective in blocking transmission of multidrug resistant parasites to mosquitoes. We have used mosquito feeding studies to demonstrate the importance of microscopic gametocytemia as a key to identifying the infectious reservoir in Southeast Asia. Since much malaria is asymptomatic and submicroscopic, my current efforts are centered on assessing determinants of transmission from asymptomatic, low-density infections in Africa. We are concluding a multi-year field study in Bagamoyo, Tanzania that pairs PCR diagnosis of malaria with mosquito skin feeding assays. The rich sample bank of human and mosquito samples generated will be used to determine host and parasite factors that affect transmissibility at low parasite densities, and to track the genetic diversity of parasites that persist within human hosts through time and through transmission to mosquitoes. This work has implications for which field deployable diagnostics are most suited to malaria elimination efforts and understanding how mosquito-borne transmission affects parasite evolution and the spread of drug resistance.
Malaria relapse: Plasmodium vivax is the second most prevalent malaria species in the world and causes much morbidity through its ability to reactivate from the liver and cause relapse. Safe and effective treatments are lacking, further complicated by the difficulty of distinguishing re-infections from relapse. We have teamed with investigators Asia to characterize genotypic signatures of relapse in well-defined cohorts using next generation sequencing techniques. More recently, I have established a cohort in Tanzania to investigate relapse patterns in Plasmodium ovale, a neglected parasite species that is growing in prevalence across Sub-Saharan Africa. We are exploring the population genetics of this parasite in Africa and teaming with collaborators to link in vitro and in vivo relapse phenotypes. The long-term goal of this work is to identify biomarkers and parasite genetic determinants of relapse that can guide elimination efforts and lead to the development of new therapies.
SARS-CoV-2 transmission: Households are hotspots for SARS-CoV-2 transmission. In 2020, I led one of the few prospective studies to date of household transmission in the US. We documented a 32% incident attack rate, with increased transmission in minority households. We also linked higher nasopharyngeal viral loads with increased transmission. We have extended the cohort to study the duration of naturally acquired immune protection, and I continue to be involved in ongoing studies of SARS-CoV-2 transmission within households.
Selected Publications
Cerami C, Popkin-Hall ZR, Rapp T, Tompkins K, Zhang H, Muller MS, Basham C, Whittelsey M, Chhetri SB, Smith J, Litel C, Lin KD, Churiwal M, Khan S, Rubinstein R, Claman F, Mollan K, Wohl D, Premkumar L, Powers KA, Juliano JJ, Lin FC, Lin JT (2021). Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States: living density, viral load, and disproportionate impact on communities of color. Clin Infect Dis. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab701.
Cunningham CH, Hennelly CM, Lin JT, Ubalee R, Boyce RM, Mulogo EM, Hathaway N, Thwai KL, Phanzu F, Kalonji A, Mwandagalirwa K, Tshefu A, Juliano JJ, Parr JB (2021). A novel CRISPR-based malaria diagnostic capable of Plasmodium detection, species differentiation, and drug-resistance genotyping. EBioMedicine. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103415.
Lin JT, Waltmann A, Moser KA, Park Z, Na YB, Aydemir O, Brazeau NF, Gosi P, Marsh PW, Muller MS, Spring M, Sok S, Bailey JA, Saunders DL, Lon C, Wojnarski M (2021). Selection of Cytochrome b Mutants Is Rare among Plasmodium falciparum Patients Failing Treatment with Atovaquone-Proguanil in Cambodia. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01249-20.
Balasubramanian S, Rahman RS, Lon C, Parobek C, Ubalee R, Hathaway N, Kuntawunginn W, My M, Vy D, Saxe J, Lanteri C, Lin FC, Spring M, Meshnick SR, Juliano JJ, Saunders DL, Lin JT (2020). Efficient Transmission of Mixed Plasmodium falciparum/vivax Infections From Humans to Mosquitoes. J Infect Dis. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz388.
Lin JT, Lon C, Spring MD, Sok S, Chann S, Ittiverakul M, Kuntawunginn W, My M, Thay K, Rahman R, Balasubramanian S, Char M, Lanteri CA, Gosi P, Ubalee R, Meshnick SR, Saunders DL (2017). Single dose primaquine to reduce gametocyte carriage and Plasmodium falciparum transmission in Cambodia: An open-label randomized trial. PLoS One. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168702.
Parobek CM, Parr JB, Brazeau NF, Lon C, Chaorattanakawee S, Gosi P, Barnett EJ, Norris LD, Meshnick SR, Spring MD, Lanteri CA, Bailey JA, Saunders DL, Lin JT, Juliano JJ (2017). Partner-Drug Resistance and Population Substructuring of Artemisinin-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum in Cambodia. Genome Biol Evol. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evx126.
Lin JT, Hathaway NJ, Saunders DL, Lon C, Balasubramanian S, Kharabora O, Gosi P, Sriwichai S, Kartchner L, Chuor CM, Satharath P, Lanteri C, Bailey JA, Juliano JJ (2015). Using Amplicon Deep Sequencing to Detect Genetic Signatures of Plasmodium vivax Relapse. J Infect Dis. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiv142.
Spring MD, Lin JT, Manning JE, Vanachayangkul P, Somethy S, Bun R, Se Y, Chann S, Ittiverakul M, Sia-ngam P, Kuntawunginn W, Arsanok M, Buathong N, Chaorattanakawee S, Gosi P, Ta-aksorn W, Chanarat N, Sundrakes S, Kong N, Heng TK, Nou S, Teja-isavadharm P, Pichyangkul S, Phann ST, Balasubramanian S, Juliano JJ, Meshnick SR, Chour CM, Prom S, Lanteri CA, Lon C, Saunders DL (2015). Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine failure associated with a triple mutant including kelch13 C580Y in Cambodia: an observational cohort study.
Lin JT, Saunders DL, Meshnick SR (2014). The role of submicroscopic parasitemia in malaria transmission: what is the evidence? Trends Parasitol. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2014.02.004.
Affiliations
Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Lab
Institute of Global Health and Infectious Diseases
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP)
