ISTM

I graduated from Keele University in 1998 with a Dual Hons BSc in Biology and French where I developed an interest for parasitology. I then completed a Masters course in Molecular Parasitology and Vector Biology, awarded by the Universities of Salford, Manchester and Keele with a research project identifying Leishmania virulence factors with Dr R. Maingon. After being awarded an Entente Cordiale Scholarship, I carried out my PhD jointly at Keele, the Institut Pasteur, Lille and the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris under the supervision of Dr D. Hoole, Dr R. Pierce and Dr S. Dufour. The research investigated the parasite-host relationship of Ligula intenstinalis (Cestoda) and Rutilus rutilus (Cyprinidae) using mRNA and protein analysis to investigate the mechanism involved in down-regulation of gonadotrophic hormone.

Following my PhD, I moved into the field of malaria, with a postdoctoral position at Keele under Prof. H. Hurd. Using predominantly mosquito stages of the rodent malaria model, this project involved employing a combination of techniques to refine and simplify an in vitro culture system. I then took up a postdoctoral fellowship at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine creating genetically modified parasite lines with functional domain knockouts of the Plasmodium berghei scavenger receptor. The parasite lines were then taken through the entire life cycle to elucidate expression, post-translational behaviour and function of PbSR in preventing parasite development and transmission. I returned to Keele in 2008 to take up my current post, involving the genetic engineering of mosquitoes to prevent malaria transmission.

• V. Carter, S. Schimizu, M. Arai & J. T. Dessens, 2008. PbSR is synthesized in macrogametocytes and involved in formation of the malaria crystalloids. Mol. Microbiol. 68 (6): 1560-1569
• V. Carter, A. Nacer, A. Underhill, R. E. Sinden & H. Hurd, 2007. Minimal requirements for ookinete to oocyst transformation in Plasmodium. Int J Parasitol. Sep;37(11):1221-32
• V. Carter, R. Pierce, S. Dufour, C. Arme & D. Hoole. 2005. The tapeworm Ligula intestinalis inhibits LH expression and puberty in its teleost host, Rutilus rutilus Reproduction 130:939-945
• H. Hurd, V. Carter & A Nacer. 2005. Interactions between malaria and mosquitoes: the role of apoptosis in parasite establishment and vector response to infection. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. Role of apoptosis in infection. D. E. Griffin (Ed) Springer. 289: 185-218
• H. Hurd & V. Carter. 2004. The role of programmed cell death in Plasmodium-mosquito interactions. International Journal for Parasitology 34: 1459-1472
• V. Carter, H. Cable, B.A. Underhill, J. Williams & H. Hurd. 2003. Isolation of Plasmodium berghei ookinetes in culture using Nycodenz density gradient columns and magnetic isolation. Malaria Journal 2:35