People, Parasites, and Plagues

How does a planarian know what to regrow, and when to stop? In this episode of People, Parasites & Plagues, we sit down with Dr. Rachel Roberts-Galbraith from UGA's Regenerative Bioscience Center to explore the remarkable biology that allows planarians to regenerate missing parts of their bodies.

We dive into how these tiny organisms repair wounds, rebuild complex tissues, and coordinate the cellular signals needed to restore the right structures in the right places. Along the way, we discuss what planarians can teach researchers about stem cells, tissue organization, and the fundamental biology behind regeneration.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. David Horn, Chair of Parasite Molecular Biology at the University of Dundee in Scotland. We explore how Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness, manages to stay one step ahead of the immune system.

Dr. Horn explains the remarkable process of antigenic variation, where trypanosomes draw from thousands of surface-protein genes and fragments, continually changing their appearance and evading immune attacks. We also discuss his lab’s use of high-throughput genetic screens to uncover how these parasites regulate their genes, develop drug resistance, and survive inside their hosts.

We also look at the changing landscape of sleeping sickness treatment, from historically toxic drugs to acoziborole, a promising single-dose oral treatment that could play an important role in efforts to eliminate the disease.

Plus, Dr. Horn shares his path into parasitology, the value of unbiased discovery in science, and how he spends his time outside the lab cycling and exploring the Scottish countryside.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Robyn Kent, Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, to explore how Toxoplasma gondii persists in the body long after infection.

Dr. Kent breaks down the parasite’s chronic stage, where Toxoplasma forms cysts in tissues like the brain and muscle. But rather than simply “going dormant,” her research suggests these parasites may remain active, responsive, and far more dynamic than previously thought.

We discuss tachyzoites, bradyzoites, cyst walls, immune evasion, single-cell RNA sequencing, and why understanding chronic toxoplasma infection is essential for future vaccines and treatments.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Elizabeth Uhl, a veterinary pathologist at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, to explore how disease leaves its mark across time.

Dr. Uhl introduces us to paleopathology, the study of disease in ancient remains, and explains how animal bones, historical records, archaeology, and modern pathology can work together to reveal the health landscapes of the past. From pre-Columbian dog skeletons and canine distemper to horses, wartime disease, and the One Health paradigm, this conversation traces the deep connections between humans, animals, pathogens, and history.

We also discuss how looking backward can help us better understand the diseases we face today.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Diego Huet, an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Georgia, to explore Toxoplasma gondii. It's often called the world’s most successful parasite.

Infecting up to a third of the global population, Toxoplasma is both incredibly common and largely invisible. Dr. Huet breaks down how it spreads, why most people never know they have it, and how it can persist in the body for life by forming dormant cysts.

We also dive into the parasite’s surprisingly complex biology, from its unusual ATP synthase (with nearly double the components found in humans) to the bigger evolutionary questions behind why it works the way it does. Along the way, we explore how scientists use Toxoplasma as a model to better understand other parasites, and how these differences could lead to more targeted treatments in the future.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Nancy Manley, Director of the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. Before ASU, she spent over 20 years at the University of Georgia, where she served as Head of the Department of Genetics and a Distinguished Research Professor studying the thymus.

We explore one of the body’s most overlooked yet essential organs, the thymus, and how it builds and shapes the immune system over time. Dr. Manley breaks down why this organ is far more dynamic than most people realize, and why its complexity makes it so challenging to study.

From immune development to aging and disease, this conversation highlights how much we still don’t understand, and why it matters.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Justin Bahl, a UGA Professor of Epidemology and Biostatistics. David and Kim explore how modern epidemiology uses genomic data and statistics to track the spread of infectious diseases.

From studying fungi on palm leaves across Asia and Australia to analyzing viral genomes during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, Dr. Bahl shares how global field experience and biostatistical tools come together to reveal how pathogens move through populations.

We discuss molecular epidemiology, the importance of metadata, and how real-time data sharing transformed outbreak investigations during pandemics like H1N1 and COVID-19.

The hosts sit down with Dr. Julie Fox, Chief of the Emerging Virus Immunity Unit at NIAID, National Institutes of Health, to explore the science of alphavirus immunity and what antibodies really do in the context of alphavirus infection.

From chikungunya virus and its debilitating joint disease to broader mosquito-borne alphaviruses, Dr. Fox explains why these viruses are powerful models for studying immune protection. We move beyond the traditional view of antibodies as simple neutralizers and examine Fc-mediated effector functions, viral escape, and how mechanistic immunology informs the design of more durable vaccines and antibody therapies.

Dr. Fox also shares her path into government research, what it takes to launch a lab at NIH, and the training programs available for graduate students and aspiring biologists interested in infectious disease research.

Parasitoid wasps are some of the most successful organisms on Earth, even if most of us never notice them.

In this episode, Dr. Michael Strand from the UGA Department of Entomology takes us inside the hidden world of parasitoid wasps. These insects lay their eggs in other insects and rely on domesticated viruses to suppress host immune systems and control development. We explore how these virus–wasp partnerships evolved over millions of years, why they have made parasitoid wasps incredibly diverse, and how their biology influences ecosystems and agricultural pest control.

From evolutionary arms races to real-world applications, this episode reveals a biological battle happening all around us, right under our noses.

What if your gut bacteria could become medicine?

In this episode, a UGA microbiologist, Greg Phillips, reveals how engineered probiotic E. coli can produce L-dopa, the frontline treatment for Parkinson’s, directly inside the gut. We explore the gut–brain connection, the power of the microbiome, and how living microbes could become the next generation of drug delivery systems.

From World War I probiotic strains to modern genetic engineering, this episode takes you inside a bold new frontier of microbiome-based medicine.