We use the tools of comparative genomics – whole genome sequencing and ‘omics technologies, bioinformatics, molecular biology and population genetics – to study the biology and evolution of several different species of parasite.
Parasites include eukaryotic microbes that cause some of the world’s most devastating diseases. We study species of the malaria parasite Plasmodium, and Trichomonas vaginalis that causes the most common, non-viral, human sexually transmitted infection.
We led the projects to sequence the first reference genomes of Plasmodium falciparum (Gardner et al, Nature, 2002), Plasmodium vivax (Carlton et al, Nature 2008), Plasmodium yoelii (Carlton et al, Nature 2002), Plasmodium cynomolgi (Tachibana, Nature Genetics, 2012), and the first T. vaginalis genome (Carlton et al, Science, 2007).
We have also characterized the genomes of parasites from hundreds of clinical isolates collected around the globe (Neafsey et al., Nature Genetics, 2012; Hupalo et al., Nature Genetics, 2016; Bradic et al., Genome Biology & Evolution, 2017), as well as urban samples from ATMs, sewage, and the pets and pests of New Yorkers (Bik et al., mSphere, 2016; Maritz et al., PLoS One, 2017; Maritz et al., Microbial Ecology, 2017).
3.2 billion people live in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 106 countries and territories.
Our research focuses on the genomic epidemiology and evolution of malaria parasites in humans and mosquitoes in India.
A fascinating group of parasites that infect humans, birds, livestock e.g. cattle and pigs, and pets e.g. cats and dogs.
We study the genetic diversity, populatiuon structure and mechanisms of genome plasticity in trichomonads.
The City of New York is home to 8.6 million people on a land mass of 302 sq miles.
Collaborating with New York City officials, we use genomics to characterize urban microbes.
The Carlton Lab loves to sequence microbes! We utilize the latest genomics technology developed by biotech companies Illumina, Oxford Nanopore Technology, Phase Genomics etc., and tweak the protocols and fine-tune the methodology to use out in the real world in New York City and India.
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19, a respiratory illness that spread globally during 2020. This course aims to provide students with the skills to read critically and evaluate primary literature articles concerning SARS-CoV-2 evolution, clinical manifestation, epidemiology, and the development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, as well as the public health consequences of the pandemic.
This course describes the developing relationship between genomics and genomic technologies with the health of populations in a global context.
This course describes key concepts in the biology of malaria parasites and their infection of human and mosquito hosts.
Julius Silver, Roslyn S. Silver, and Enid Silver Winslow Professor at NYU Department of Biology, Faculty Director of Genomics at the Center for Genomics & Systems Biology, affiliated appointments at NYU College of Global Public Health, NYU School of Medicine, and the American Museum of Natural History.
After graduating with a Ph.D. in Genetics from Edinburgh University in 1995, Professor Carlton took up research positions at the University of Florida, then NCBI at NIH, and then TIGR (The Institute for Genomic Research, founded by J. Craig Venter and Claire Fraser).
Since 2006, her group has been at New York University undertaking research into the biology and evolution of important human parasites. She is Program Director of the Center for the Study of Complex Malaria in India, an NIH-funded International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research. In 2010 she was awarded the Stoll-Stunkard Award from the American Society for Parasitologists; in 2012 she was elected a Fellow of AAAS; and in 2018 she was honored with a Julius Silver, Roslyn S. Silver, and Enid Silver Winslow endowed chair from NYU.
Krystal Sotolongo 2008 (SURP awardee), Alice Ford 2009 (SURP awardee), Mark Jelcic 2009, Kevin Dell’Aquila 2011 (DURF awardee), Kharisa Rachmasari 2012 (NYUAD), Grace Tooley 2013-2015 (2 times GURF awardee), Elisha Wang 2013 (DURF awardee, Roger and Beth Carlton Research Scholar for 2014, recipient of the Chair's Biology Award at the CAS Dean's Awards Ceremony), Sarah Batbold 2014/15 (summer research fellow and Capstone project, NYUAD), Dhriti Tandon 2015, Stephen Coyle 2015, Aaron Dank 2016/17, Aditya Bhagirath 2016 (SURP fellow), Giovanni Cervine 2017/18, Justin Huang 2017/18, Kaitlyn Julian 2019
Sven Rosandic, 2016; Volney French, 2013; Emre Aksoy, 2011
Shipra Mittal, Priyanka Ganesh, Amanda Heim, Rebecca Susko, Shelby Bidwell
Implementation and acceptance of government-sponsored malaria control interventions in Meghalaya, India. (Malaria Journal)
Household and individual level risk factors associated with declining malaria incidence in Meghalaya, India: implications for malaria elimination in low-endemic settings. (Malaria Journal)
Determining the Origins of Repeat Trichomonas vaginalis Infections Using Clinical Versus Genotype-Informed Criteria.
A cornucopia of research resources for the fourth rodent malaria parasite species.
Small RNAs Are Implicated in Regulation of Gene and Transposable Element Expression in the Protist Trichomonas vaginalis.
Malaria in Sundargarh district, Odisha, India: epidemiological and behavioral aspects from surveys. (Acta Tropica)
Defining symptoms of malaria in India in an era of asymptomatic infections (Malaria Journal)
The burden of asymptomatic and submicroscopic malaria in India.
Patterns of protist diversity associated with raw sewage in New York City.
