Dr Ellen Nisbet

I am interested in the evolution of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria infects several hundred million people worldwide each year, and kills one million. About 80% of all deaths caused by malaria are of children under the age of five. Many of the key anti-malaria drugs are now ineffective due to the spread of resistance.

The malaria parasite, Plasmodium, is a single celled eukaryotic pathogen. It contains a mitochondrion, as well as a remnant chloroplast called the apicoplast. The apicoplast is no longer able to carry out photosynthesis, yet is essential for the parasite's survival. Both the mitochondrion and the apicoplast have many prokaryote-like characteristics, due to their origins as endosymbiotic bacteria, enslaved about 1 1/2 billion years ago

My research examines how and why the mitochondrion and apicoplast are retained in Plasmodium. Understanding the function of these essential organelles is key to developing new anti-malarial drugs.

I am also interested in other organisms containing remnant chloroplasts. Many algae have closely related species that are not photosynthetic, yet contain chloroplasts. Some algae, such as dinoflagellates, are related to Plasmodium. Identifying why these organisms retain a chloroplast may also help understand Plasmodium cell biology.

Please email me if you are interested in PhD positions in malaria or evolutionary biology.

2004-2008 Membership Secretary, International Society for Evolutionary Protistology

2004 PhD University of Cambridge Department of Biochemistry and Darwin College 'The chloroplast genome of the dinoflagellate Amphidinium operculatum.'

2000 BSc (Hons) Microbiology, University College London

Dinoflagellates: a mitochondrial genome all at sea. Nash EA, Nisbet RER, Barbrook AC and Howe CJ. (2008) Trends in Genetics 24:328-336.

The origin of plastids. Howe CJ, Barbrook AC, Nisbet RER, Lockhart PJ & Larkum AC. (2008) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, 363:2675-2685.

Methane, Oxygen, Photosynthesis, Rubisco and the regulation of the air through time. Nisbet EG & Nisbet RER. (2008) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, 363:2745-2754.

The remarkable chloroplast genome of dinoflagellates. Howe, C.J., Nisbet, R.E.R., Barbrook, A.C. (2008) Journal of Experimental Botany, 59, 1035-1045.

Photosynthetic and atmospheric evolution. Bendall, D.S., Howe, C.J., Nisbet, E.G., Nisbet, R.E.R. (2008) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, 363:2625-2628

Transcript analysis of dinoflagellate plastid gene minicircles. Nisbet RER, Hiller RG, Barbrook AC, Skene P, Berry E & Howe CJ. (2007) Protist 159:31-9.

Biosafety risk in health lab move to central London, Nisbet, R.E.R. (2007) Nature, 449:648.

The age of rubisco. Nisbet, E.G., Grassineau, N., Howe, C.J., Nisbet, R.E.R. (2007) Geobiology, 5 (4) 311-335.

Organization of the mitochondrial genome in the dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae. Nash, E.A., Barbrook, A.C., Edwards-Stuart, R.K., Bernhart, K., Howe, C.J., Nisbet, R.E.R. (2007) Molecular Biology and Evolution, 24 (7)1-9.

How many clones need to be sequenced from a single forensic or ancient DNA sample in order to determine a reliable consensus sequence? Bower, M.A., Spencer, M., Matsumura, S., Nisbet, R.E.R., Howe, C.J. (2005) Nucleic Acids Research, 33 (8) 2549-56.

Diatom Genetics: Genetic Acquisitions and Mergers. Nisbet, R.E.R., Kilian, O., McFadden, G. (2004) Current Biology, 14 R1048-50.

Novel plastid gene minicircles in the dinoflagellate Amphidinium operculatum. Nisbet, R.E.R., Koumadou, V.L., Barbrook, A.C., Howe, C.J. (2004) Gene, 331 141-7.

The dinoflagellate chloroplast genome: where have all the genes gone? Koumandou, V.L., Nisbet R.E.R., Barbrook, A.C., Howe, C.J. (2004) Trends in Genetics, 20 (5) 261-7.

Evolution of the chloroplast genome. Howe, C.J., Barbrook, A.C., Koumandou, V.L., Nisbet R.E.R., Symington, H.A., Wightman, T.F. (2003) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, 358, 99-108.

Organisation and expression of the plastid genome of the dinoflagellate Amphidinium operculatum. Barbrook, A.C., Symington, H.A., Nisbet, R.E.R., Larkum, A., Howe, C.J. (2001) Molecular Genetics and Genomics, 266 (4), 632-8.