Research in my laboratory has centered on two main foci of biology of disease vectors and parasitology: These are, firstly, the study of the molecular mechanisms that manage the passage of the malaria parasite through the mosquito midgut and the further development of Plasmodium within the anopheline vector. Secondly, we are specialized in genomics and bioinformatics, with an emphasis, presently, on the construction of particular databases and the development of bio-ontologies. In the first area, we have identified several Anopheles proteins that interact with Plasmodium enabling the parasite to complete the mosquito stage without being attacked by the insect's immune system. Moreover we are also analyzing the molecular mechanisms of the parasite's motility, which are responsible for the complicated passage through the vector. In the bioinformatics field our team has played a central, international role in the development of genomic and genetic databases for Anopheles and other disease vectorsand, furthermore, it has pioneered the field of ontology construction in the area of arthropod vector borne diseases.

Siden-Kiamos, I., Ganter, M., Kunze, A., Hliscs, M., Steinbüchel, M., Mendoza, J., Sinden, R.E., Louis, C. and Matuschewski, K. (2011) Genetic Strategy for Stage-specific Depletion of Plasmodium Transcripts Supports an Essential Role of Myosin A in Gliding Motility of Malarial Ookinetes. Cell. Microbiol. 13: 1996-2006.

Louis, C. (2011) The dengue fever epidemic in Athens viewed through a daily newspaper in 1927-1931. Emerg. Inf. Dis. 18: 78-82.

Deligianni, E., Morgan, R.N., Bertuccini, L., Kooij, T.W.A., Laforge, A., Poulakakis, N., Schüler, H., Louis, C., Matuschewski, K. and Siden-Kiamos, I. (2011) Critical role for a stage-specific actin in male exflagellation of the malaria parasite. Cell. Microbiol. 13: 1714-30.

Topalis, P., Dialynas, E., Mitraka, E., Deliyanni, E., Siden-Kiamos, I. and Louis C. (2011) A set of ontologies to drive tools for the control of vector-borne diseases. J Biomed. Inform. 44: 42-47.

Lawson, D., Arensburger, P., Atkinson, P., Besansky, N.J., Bruggner, R.V., Butler, R., Campbell, K.S., Christophides, G.K., Dialynas, E., Hammond, M., Hill, C.A., Konopinski, N., Lobo, N.F., MacCallum, R.M., Madey, G., Megy, K., Meyer, J., Redmond, S., Severson, D.W., Stinson, E.O., Topalis, P., Birney, E., Gelbart, W.M., Kafatos, F.C., Louis, C. and Collins, F.H. (2009) VectorBase: a data resource for invertebrate vector genomics. (2009) VectorBase: A home for invertebrate vectors of human pathogens. Nucl. Acids Res. 37: D583-7.