Dr. Magda Ellis
Post-Doc
Research summary
My career to date has focused largely on infectious disease susceptibility with a particular focus on helminth infections and schistosomiasis. In 2009, I was awarded a CJ Martin fellowship from the NHMRC (Australia) which has enabled me to undertake research with the Hill group at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human genetics to investigate susceptibility to bacteraemia and mycobacterial infections. These projects aim to identify rare variants controlling human susceptibility to bacterial diseases using next generation sequencing technologies and whole exome-capture. My interests lie heavily in the field of human susceptibility and the immune response to pathogen invasion and co-infection. The understanding of mechanisms involved in host-pathogen interaction and the process of pathogen eradication is fundamental to targeted treatment of susceptible individuals and development of tailored therapeutic treatment of complex diseases.
Publication list
PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC PAPERS
Yang YR., Gray DJ, Ellis MK, Yang SK, Craig PS, McManus DP. Human cases of simultaneous echinococcosis and tuberculosis - significance and extent in China. 2009. Parasit Vectors 2(1): 53.
Hou XY, McManus DP, Gray DJ, Balen J, Luo XS, He YK, Ellis M, Williams GM, Li YS. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of safety and efficacy of combined praziquantel and artemether treatment for acute schistosomiasis japonica in China. Bull World Health Organ. 2008 Oct;86(10):788-95.
Ellis MK, Li YS, Hou XY, Chen HG, McManus DP. sTNFR-II and sICAM-1 are associated with acute disease and hepatic inflammation in schistosomiasis japonica. Int J Parasitol. 2008 May;38(6):717-23.
Ellis MK, Zhao Z, Chen HG, Montgomery GW, Li YS, McManus DP. Analysis of the 5q31-33 locus shows an association between SNP variants in the IL-5 gene and acute infection with the human bloodfluke, Schistosoma japonicum. J Immunol. 2007 Dec 15;179(12):8366-71
Li YS, Raso G, Zhao ZY, He YK, Ellis MK, McManus DP. The Impact of Large Water Management Projects on Schistosomiasis Transmission and Control in the Dongting Lake Region, China. Emerging Infect Dis. 2007; 13(7):973-979
Ellis MK, Raso G, Li YS, Rong Z, Chen HG, McManus DP. Human genetic susceptibility to co- and multiple helminth infections in a population from the Poyang Lake region, China. Int J Parasitol. 2007 Feb 27. Epub ahead of print.
Li YS, Zhen YS, Ellis M, Xiong T, Balen J, McManus DP. CD4+ T cell counts, CD4+/CD8+ T cell count ratios and antibody levels in migrant fishermen infected with Schistosoma japonicum in the Dongting Lake, P.R. China. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2006;75(5):910-3.
Yang Y, Ellis M, Tao Sun, et al. A unique family clustering of human echinococcus cases in a Chinese community. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2006; 74(3):487-94.
Ellis MK, Li YS, Rong Z, Chen HG, McManus DP. Familial aggregation of human infection with Schistosoma japonicum in the Poyang Lake region, China. Journal of Infectious Disease. Int J Parasitol 2006;36(1):71-7
REVIEW ARTICLES
Ellis MK, McManus DP. Familial aggregation of human helminth infection in the Poyang lake area of China with a focus on genetic susceptibility to schistosomiasis japonica and associated markers of disease. 2009 Parasitology 136(7): 699-712.
Burke ML, Jones MK, Gobert GN, Li YS, Ellis MK, McManus DP. Immunopathogenesis in human schistosomiasis. 2009 Parasite Immunol 31(4): 163-76