Martin Olivier, PhD, McGill University

Dr. Olivier's research focuses on understanding how pathogens can evade the host immune response by manipulating the biochemical cascades involved in the regulation of phagocyte microbicidal functions. His pathogens of interest are protozoan parasites causing malaria, which causes up to two millions deaths annually, and leishmaniasis, which affects more than 250 million individuals worldwide. His lab has found that leishmania can tame the innate inflammatory response of the host, using its surface protease that can also be contained in microvesicules rapidly released within the host environment. For Malaria, his research revealed that a crystalline metabolic waste (HZ) of the parasite was responsible for a great number of inflammation-related pathologies encountered during this important infection. His lab's findings may lead to the development of new therapies against those infectious agents, which could be applied to others such as tuberculosis. They might also lead to the development of new diagnostic tools based on exo-biomarkers, and potentially to vaccine development.