UMass Amherst: NRE Year in Review

Stephen Rich

Evolutionary history has shown that as hosts develop immunity, parasites develop mechanisms to circumvent it. Professor Stephen Rich studies the interactions among pathogens, vectors, and hosts in the evolution of malaria, Lyme disease, and the Rabies virus. His research is identifying which factors (such as natural selection, exchange of genetic material, and population structure) have created mutations in past and present host-parasite interactions. At the same time, examining the genomic information of the parasite and the dynamics of parasite-host populations is helping him understand future mutations of a disease. These findings will help project the long-term efficacy of vaccines developed from genes-encoding proteins.