Dr. Gold studies protozoan parasites that reside within specialized vacuoles inside or attached to their host cells. Parasites that adopt this lifestyle include those responsible for causing such serious diseases as malaria, toxoplasmosis and cryptosporidiosis. He is interested in understanding the complex “molecular dance” of host-parasite interactions critical to developing drugs and vaccines that might cure or control these diseases.

Dr. Gold teaches Molecular Genetics, Cell Biology, Parasitology, and Immunology at St. Edward’s University. Before joining the St. Edward’s faculty, Dr. Gold studied molecular host-parasite interactions of Toxoplasma gondii during his Postdoctoral studies at MIT and subsequently as a research scientist at UC Davis. Prior to studying parasitology, his doctoral research at Caltech focused on the DNA damage and replication checkpoints. At St. Edward’s, Dr. Gold's focus is on developing molecular tools to study the highly diverse but relatively understudied class of protozoan parasites of invertebrates called Gregarines. This work involves a combination of cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry and research in the field to collect wild isolates of these parasites.

Year Started

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, Biology, 2015, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA        

Ph.D., Biology, 2009, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA             

B.A., Biological Sciences, 2000, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY       

Achievement & Involvement

Honors and Awards

2015, Best Talk, 13th International Congress on Toxoplasmosis, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA   

2014, Invited speaker, 63rd American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, New Orleans, LA

2014, Best Oral Presentation Award, 25th Molecular Parasitology Meeting, Woods Hole, MA

2013, The Elsevier Investigator Award for Best Talk, 12th International Congress on Toxoplasmosis, St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University, UK

2013, 2nd Prize for Best Oral Presentation at the New England Association of Parasitologists Annual Meeting, Yale University, New Haven, CT

2011-2012, Knights Templar Eye Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

2004-2005, Teaching Award from the Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology

1999, Cornell Plant Cell and Molecular Biology Summer Research Fellowship

1996, American Heart Association Summer Research Fellowship

External Grants

Active Grants

<p>1826871, NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI), 10/1/2018 - 9/30/2021</p>

<p>PI: Andrea M. Holgado and Dan A. Gold</p>

<p>"MRI: &nbsp;&nbsp;Acquisition of a versatile, user-friendly, automated fluorescence microscope to promote research performed by faculty and undergraduates at a Hispanic-serving institution,"</p>

<p>$207,310; Role: Co-PI</p>

Previously Awarded Grants

<p>7R21AI114930, National Institutes of Health R21,&nbsp;12/1/2014-11/30/2016</p>

<p>PI: Jeroen Saeij&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Inhibiting Toxoplasma growth by disrupting its access to host small molecules."</p>

<p>$444,676; Role: Key Personnel,&nbsp;main&nbsp;author of&nbsp;grant</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>KNIGHTS TEMPLAR EYE FOUNDATION Postdoctoral Fellowship,&nbsp;07/01/11-06/01/12</p>

<p>PI: Daniel Gold</p>

<p>"Characterization of a novel Toxoplasma secreted rhoptry protein that modulates host metabolism."</p>

Publications & Articles

Publications

Krishnamurthy S, Konstantinou EK, Young LH, Gold DA, and Saeij JPJ. PLoS Pathogen. 2017 Mar 9;13(3):e1006176. The human immune response to Toxoplasma: autophagy vs. cell death. PMID: 28278184.

Gold DA, Kaplan AD, Rosowski EE, Cirelli KM, Bougdour A, Sidik, SM, Lourido, S, Egea PF, Bradley PJ, Hakimi MA, Rasmusson RL, Saeij JPJ. Cell Host & Microbe. 2015 May 13;17(5):642-52. The Toxoplasma dense granule proteins GRA17 and GRA23 mediate the movement of small molecules between the host and the parasitophorous vacuole. PMID: 25974303. Research Highlights: Nature Reviews Microbiology 13, 398 (2015) and F1000 Prime http://f1000.com/prime/725495550. Publicity: MIT News, “Researchers identify new target for anti-malaria drugs: Manipulating the permeability of a type of vacuole could help defeat malarial parasites.” May 13, 2015. http://news.mit.edu/2015/new-target-anti-malaria-drugs-0513

Lim, D, Gold DA, Julien L, Rosowski EE, Niedelman W, Yaffe MB, Saeij JPJ. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2013 Oct 15. Structure of the Toxoplasma gondii ROP18 kinase domain reveals a second ligand-binding pocket required for acute virulence. PMID: 24129568.

Camejo A, Gold DA, Lu D, McFetridge K, Julien L, Yang N, Jensen KD, Saeij JPJ. International Journal of Parasitology. S0020-7519(13)00222-1. 2013 Sep 24. Identification of three novel Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins. PMID: 24070999.

Niedelman W, Gold DA, Rosowski EE, Sprokholt J, Lim D, Farid A, Melo MB, Spooner E, Yaffe MB and Saeij JPJ.  PLoS Pathogen. 2012 8(6):e1002784. The rhoptry proteins ROP18 and ROP5 mediate Toxoplasma gondii evasion of the murine, but not the human, Interferon-gamma response. PMID: 22761577.

Gold DA and Dunphy WG. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2010 Apr 23;285(17):12638-46. Drf1-dependent kinase interacts with Claspin through a conserved protein motif. PMID: 20190277.

Lee J, Gold DA, Shevchenko A, Shevchenko A, Dunphy WG. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2005 Nov;16(11):5269-82. Roles of replication fork-interacting and Chk1-activating domains from Claspin in a DNA replication checkpoint response. PMID: 16148040.

Yanow SK, Gold DA, Yoo HY, and Dunphy WG. Journal of Biological Chemistry.  2003 Oct 17;278(42):41083-92. Xenopus Drf1, a regulator of Cdc7, displays checkpoint-dependent accumulation on chromatin during an S-phase arrest.  PMID: 12897072.

McGarry RC, Barron YD, Carvalho MF, Hill JE, Gold D, Cheung E, Kraus WL, Lazarowitz SG. Plant Cell 2003 Jul;15(7):1605-18. A novel Arabidopsis acetyltransferase interacts with the geminivirus movement protein NSP. PMID: 12837950.

School Group

School of Natural Sciences