Rajshekhar Gaji

Thematic Area: Zoonotic Diseases

Overview of Research: My lab’s research is focused on defining the role of Tyrosine Kinase Like (TKL) family proteins in the biology and pathogenesis of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii.

Highlight Research relating to the specific thematic area: Toxoplasma is a zoonotic pathogen that is known to cause miscarriage in pregnant women, blindness in newborn children and fatal encephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. Our research aims to dissect the role of TKL kinases in Toxoplasma through generation of null mutants or conditional knockdowns followed by phenotypic analysis. 

Recent Grants: 

1. Funding Agency: National Center for Veterinary Parasitology

Project Title: Determining the role of transcription factor TgAP2XI-2 in the molecular pathogenesis of Toxoplasma gondii.

Amount and Date: $50,000 (01/01/2024 to 12/31/2024).  Role - Principal Investigator

2. Funding Agency: National Institute of Health (1R21AI162606-01A1)

Project Title: Exploring the function of a novel TKL protein in Toxoplasma endodyogeny

Amount: $440,000.00.  (07/01/2022 to 06/31/2024).  Role - Principal Investigator

3. Funding Agency: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

Project Title: Functional Mechanism of a Plant Like Kinase in Toxoplasma Pathogenesis

Amount and Date: $50,000 (07/01/2021 to 06/31/2022).  Role - Principal Investigator

4. Funding Agency: American Heart Association

Project Title: Mechanistic function of a unique plant like nuclear kinase in T. gondii

Amount and Date: $231,000 (11/01/2018 to 10/31/2021).  Role - Principal Investigator

Recent publications:

Montano H, Anandkrishnan R, Carruthers, VB and Gaji RY*. (2023). TgTKL4 is a novel kinase that plays an important role in Toxoplasma morphology and fitness. mSphere. e00649-22.  *Senior and corresponding author. (*Featured as cover image).

Gaji RY*, Sharp AK and Brown AM. (2021). Protein kinases in Toxoplasma gondii. International Journal for Parasitology. 51(6):415-429. *Corresponding author.

Overview of mentor activities (undergraduate, graduate, and/or professional students):

So far, I have mentored three undergraduate students. Currently there are two PhD students in the lab and an undergraduate research student.

Overview of CeZAP and/or ID-IGEP involvement: 

We have been involved with CeZAP activities including participation and presentations in scientific events.