Dr Maria Gancheva

Maria is a post-doctoral researcher in Dr. Danny Wilson's research lab on malaria biology, at the University of Adelaide. Single cell parasites such as Plasmodium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are leading causes of disease, malaria and toxoplasmosis respectively. Malaria causes >500,000 deaths per year with children under five most at risk, and at least a third of the world’s population is estimated to be infected with the food- and water-borne zoonotic Toxoplasma parasites that can cause severe disease during pregnancy. Maria's research is focused on developing novel therapeutics to treat these parasitic diseases in humans and in livestock.

Maria graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Science) degree, majoring in Biochemistry and Microbiology/Immunology, and an Honours degree in Health Sciences (First Class Honours), followed by a PhD in Medicine, within the Stroke Research Programme. Her PhD research focussed on the neurogenic potential of human dental pulp stem cells; potential candidates for cell-based therapies for treatment of neurological diseases. Her dissertation examined the ability to reprogram human dental pulp stem cells along the neural lineage using specific transcription factors and culture conditions, to enhance their neurogenic capacity, including their ability to replace lost neural cells.