Welcome to the Institute of Parasitology 
The Institute of Parasitology is one of the oldest recognized centres of interdisciplinary research in Canada. We focus on parasitic organisms, the relationship with their host and the means to limit the impact of parasitic disease on health and wellbeing.
The Institute maintains a close working relationship with the McGill Centre for Tropical Diseases, the Faculties of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, and Science of McGill University.
We host an active Graduate Research program with students from Canada and around the world at the MSc and PhD level. An MSc degree typically can be completed in 2 years and a PhD in 5 years. Students wishing to apply for a graduate student position should review the information on our programs and the application procedures here.
Visit the different sections of the website to find information on our Research Labs, Graduate Application procedures, our weekly Seminar Series, our Research Facilities and Equipment and more...
Latest News
Congrats Prof. Jianguo (Jeff) Xia - one of the world’s most Cited Researchers
McGill University today announced that 16 of its researchers, including Prof. Jianguo (Jeff) Xia of the Department of Animal Science/Institute of Parasitology, have been included on the Highly Cited Researchers™ (HCRs) list, as published by Clarivate. To be included in the prestigious list, researchers must rank in the top 1% worldwide for their fields and publications in the Web of Science index. In being named to this list, these McGillians join a cohort of 6,849 individuals around the world who have all been recognized for their academic contributions. Read more here.
Prof. Qian Liu awarded funding in Year 2 of the MI4 Pfizer Early Career Investigator Award program
Qian Liu, PhD, received the award for her project, Single-molecule interactions between Nipah virus and the interferon-induced transmembrane proteins. Read more here.
Please join the Macdonald Campus community in congratulating Qian Liu, Associate Professor in the Institute of Parasitology for her winning submission.
Dr. Liu's project will study Nipah virus to increase scientific understanding of how viruses infect cells and how the cell's innate immune defenses fight novel viral infections, knowledge which is critical to developing intervention strategies against emerging viral diseases. Nipah virus can be transmitted from animals to humans or from human to human and has a mortality rate of 40-70%. It is listed in the WHO blueprint priority diseases for research and development because of its epidemic potential and lack of countermeasures. This research will provide new insights into the subtle mechanisms of Nipah virus infection and interferon-induced transmembrane proteins, which restrict the virus' entry into our cells. Read more here.
Prof. Petra Rohrbach has accepted the position of Director of Space
Dean Anja Geitmann is pleased to announce that Professor Petra Rohrbach has accepted the position of Director of Space on the Macdonald Campus effective June 16, 2022 for a five-year term. As part of her mandate, Professor Rohrbach will serve, amongst other things, as Chair of the Macdonald Sub-committee on Physical Facilities and Building Director of the Macdonald-Stewart/Raymond/Barton complex. She has been a member of the academic staff in the Institute of Parasitology since 2008.
The Globe and Mail article featuring Prof. Igor Cestari and Prof. Momar Ndao "Until two years ago, mRNA vaccines had never been approved. Now, vast research offers hope in treating more than COVID-19"
Prof. Roger K. Prichard named a #McGill200 Unsung Hero
Congrats to Professor Prichard who was named an Unsung Hero as part of the #McGill200 Bicentennial Celebrations!
Read the full profile on McGill's Bicentennial website.
A word from Associate Member Prof Momar Ndao: McGill joins Moderna in battle against global health threats
McGill University has joined Moderna’s mRNA Access program, which aims to accelerate innovation and enable new vaccines and medicines for emerging and neglected infectious diseases through collaborative research and preclinical development. McGill is the first university in Canada to join this program as it ramps up its international rollout.
Treatment for parasitic infections
Another avenue enabled by the platform is the development of mRNA medicines against parasitic infections, such as Cryptosporidiosis – of which a major outbreak occurred in the USA in 1993 – or Schistosomiasis, a water-borne pathogen that affects more than 250 million people and threatens almost 1 billion people worldwide. These and other parasites are the focus of Momar Ndao, a Professor in the Department of Medicine and a Principal Investigator of the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program (MI4), Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.
Read the full article in the McGill Reporter
Prof. Jeff Xia named to Highly Cited Researchers 2021 list
Fourteen McGill academics including Elena Bennett (NRS/MSE) and Jianguo (Jeff) Xia (AnSci/Para) have been named to the annual Highly Cited Researchers list from Clarivate Analytics. These researchers join 6,600 researchers from across the globe who have demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field of fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Congrats Elena and Jeff! McGill Reporter.
