Jesus Gilberto Valenzuela

The PERL toolkit: Using sand flies to identify leishmaniasis reservoirs

The PERL toolkit uses sand fly blood meals to identify leishmaniasis reservoirs by analyzing gene expression patterns in infected and uninfected specimens.

Human sand fly challenge elicits saliva-specific innate and type 1-polarized immunity that promotes Leishmania killing

This study shows that repeated sand fly bites induce immune responses to salivary proteins that enhance Leishmania killing in macrophages.

Discovery of an Adaptive Neuroimmune Response Driving Itch and Fast Tick Removal with Implications for Preventing Pathogen Transmission

The paper identifies a neuroimmune response that enables rapid tick removal in guinea pigs and humans, independent of antibodies, offering a new strategy for preventing tick-borne diseases.

Comprehensive evaluation of antibody responses to mosquitoes and mosquito-borne arboviruses using highly multiplexed serology

This study evaluates antibody responses to mosquitoes and arboviruses using a multiplexed phage display library to identify epitopes and antigens associated with exposure.

Genomic Analysis of Two Phlebotomine Sand Fly Vectors of Leishmania from the New and Old World

The paper sequences and annotates the genomes of two sand fly species, identifying genes related to vector biology and population structure to aid in leishmaniasis control.