After being recruited by local veterinarians to help find the source of a parasitic infection in southern California, we identified two species of snails, Galba cubensis and G. humilis in the Colorado River in California. We also identified that some of those snails were indeed carrying Heterobilharzia americana, the fluke that causes canine schistosomiasis. Our finding is the first report of the presence of this flatworm parasite in Southern California.
Dr. Dillman was a guest on a podcast for the very first time. It was an episode of Something Offbeat and the podcast episode dropped today. The episode was based on a recent article detailing a case of Ophidascaris robertsi infection in a human brain.
Dr. Dillman was promoted to full Professor and asked to serve as chair of the Department of Nematology. He is excited to work with his fellow nematologists in serving the students at UCR and continuing the long tradition of research excellence established by this department.
Parasitologist Adler Dillman and cell biologist Manuela Martins-Green are this year’s recipients of UC Riverside’s Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement. The award is presented every spring to faculty members with a distinguished record of fostering undergraduate research or creative activity.
Dr. Dillman has been awarded an Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This represents the first five-year award granted to the Dillman lab and will allow the lab increased flexibility in pursuing health-related research. The $1.8 million was awarded in support of the overall research program of the lab rather than a specific project. With the support the lab will move forward in studying host-parasite interactions and how nematode venom influences host biology.
Dennis Chang and Tiffany Baiocchi walked and were hooded at UCR’s graduation this summer. They are the first graduate students trained in the Dillman Lab to earn a Ph.D. Dennis will defend his thesis later this year. Tiffany will begin her postdoctoral research in the Hong lab at Cal State Northridge later this summer. Congratulations!
