David J. Sullivan Jr., MD

Background

Centers and Institutes

• Global Health, Center for
• Malaria Research Institute

Additional Academic Titles

Joint Appointment in Medicine

Research Interests

Cerebral malaria, Chemotherapy, Copper, Diagnosis, Drug discovery, FDA drug library, Hemozoin, Immunology, Iron, Malaria, Metal heme crystal, Molecular microbiology, Placental malaria, Plasmodium, Zinc transport

Lab Website

David Sullivan Lab

• Dr. Sullivan’s lab continues to test and develop novel malaria diagnostics, from real-time PCR to new urine or saliva detection platforms. These platforms now include the adaptation of immuno-PCR (antibody coupled to DNA for PCR detection) to malaria. One lead blood stage drug includes a derivative of quinine used to treat malaria in hundreds of humans in the 1930s. They are screening the FDA-approved compound library to explore liver stage drug activity. They are also characterizing how host iron and parasite compartments modulate drug sensitivity and liver and gametocyte biology. The Plasmodium hemolysin homologue (a protein which pokes holes in red blood cells) is being characterized as a factor contributing to severe anemia. The Mapping Malaria Epidemiology in Bangladesh project is characterizing the malaria risk factors from among human-Hemoglobin E, parasite-drug resistance, mosquito-larval habitats and environmental determinants for malaria transmission in two communities with a population of 20,000 people.

Selected Publications

• Akter J, Thriemer K, Khan WA, Sullivan DJ Jr, Noedl H, Haque R. “Genotyping of Plasmodium falciparum using antigenic polymorphic markers and to study anti-malarial drug resistance markers in malaria endemic areas of Bangladesh.” Malar J. 2012 Nov 22;11:386. doi: 10.1186/1475-2875-11-386.

• Alam MS, Chakma S, Khan WA, Glass GE, Mohon AN, Elahi R, Norris LC, Podder MP, Ahmed S, Haque R, Sack DA, Sullivan DJ Jr, Norris DE. “Diversity of anopheline species and their Plasmodium infection status in rural Bandarban, Bangladesh.” Parasit Vectors. 2012 Jul 27;5:150. doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-5-150.

• Avril M, Tripathi AK, Brazier AJ, Andisi C, Janes JH, Soma VL, Sullivan DJ Jr, Bull PC, Stins MF, Smith JD. “A restricted subset of var genes mediates adherence of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes to brain endothelial cells.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 26;109(26):E1782-90. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1120534109. Epub 2012 May 22.

• Brown T, Smith LS, Oo EK, Shawng K, Lee TJ, Sullivan D, Beyrer C, Richards AK. “Molecular surveillance for drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in clinical and subclinical populations from three border regions of Burma/Myanmar: cross-sectional data and a systematic review of resistance studies.” Malar J. 2012 Sep 19;11:333. doi: 10.1186/1475-2875-11-333.

• Ferrer P, Tripathi AK, Clark MA, Hand CC, Rienhoff HY Jr, Sullivan DJ Jr. “Antimalarial iron chelator, FBS0701, shows asexual and gametocyte Plasmodium falciparum activity and single oral dose cure in a murine malaria model.” PLoS One. 2012;7(5):e37171. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037171. Epub 2012 May 21.

• Jacobine AM, Mazzone JR, Slack RD, Tripathi AK, Sullivan DJ, Posner GH. “Malaria-infected mice live until at least day 30 after a new artemisinin-derived thioacetal thiocarbonate combined with mefloquine are administered together in a single, low, oral dose.” J Med Chem. 2012 Sep 13;55(17):7892-9. doi: 10.1021/jm3009986. Epub 2012 Aug 27.

• Jaenisch T, Sazawal S, Dutta A, Deb S, Ramsan M, Sullivan DJ. “Contributions of polyclonal malaria, gametocytemia, and pneumonia to infant severe anemia incidence in malaria hyperendemic Pemba, Tanzania.” Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Jun;86(6):925-30. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0164.

• Slack RD, Mott BT, Woodard LE, Tripathi A, Sullivan D, Nenortas E, Girdwood SC, Shapiro TA, Posner GH. “Malaria-infected mice are completely cured by one 6 mg/kg oral dose of a new monomeric trioxane sulfide combined with mefloquine.” J Med Chem. 2012 Jan 12;55(1):291-6. doi: 10.1021/jm201214d. Epub 2011 Dec 15. Erratum in: J Med Chem. 2012 Feb 23;55(4):1788.

• Sullivan DJ. “Plasmodium drug targets outside the genetic control of the parasite.” Curr Pharm Des. 2013;19(2):282-9. Review.

Courses & Syllabi

• Vector-Borne Diseases in the Tropics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 223.684.11, 1/1/15 - 1/1/16
• Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 223.660.13, 1/1/15 - 1/1/16
• Biology of Parasitism, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 260.635.01, 1/1/15 - 1/1/16
• Malariology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 260.656.01, 1/1/15 - 1/1/16
• Malariology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 260.656.81, 1/1/15 - 1/1/16
• Public Health Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 550.630.81, 1/1/15 - 1/1/16

Honors

• BIAL Award, BIAL Foundation, 1/1/10
• Pew Scholars Award in Biomedical Sciences, The Pew Charitable Trusts, 1/1/00
• New Investigator Matching Award, National Foundation of Infectious Diseases (NFID), 1/1/99
• Burroughs Wellcome Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, 1/1/97
• Burroughs Wellcome Leadership Award A.M.A., Burroughs Wellcome Fund, 1/1/94
• MAP Readers Digest International Fellowship, (Mussoorie, India), 1/1/88
• Class Citizenship Award (The Netter Series) for Community Service, 1/1/88