About the Department

The Department of Medical Parasitology is staffed by an outstanding team of scientists striving to improve global heath by basic scientific research on malaria and other neglected parasitic diseases. 

There are 16 faculty in the Department whose global research teams focus on the parasites that cause malaria, sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas Disease, amoebiasis, as well as fungi associated with AIDS. The Department employs cutting edge research in genomics, cell biology, immunology, epidemiology, entomology and biochemistry to  novel ways to combat parasitic disease.  

The Department has a distinguished history in malaria research, particularly vaccine development. It has been a world leader in both research and training of medical parasitologists from the USA as well as overseas. This tradition continues with staff from more than 32 countries. The Department is part of three joint training programs for PhD students, MD-PhDs and postdoctoral fellows as well as undergraduates. The Department runs the epidemiology concentration of the Master's Program in Global Public Health training the global health workforce of the future and has a dedicated disease surveillance epidemiology unit.

The Department is committed to training scientists in endemic countries and holds a Fogarty Global Infectious Disease Training Grant with India (Dr. Jane Carlton).  Dr. Oralee Branch has created an intensive 5 week Medical Scientist Field Training Program in Peru with Dr. Michael Weitzman to train NYU medical students.

We are housed in the freestanding “historic” Old Public Health Building, within the precincts of the NYU SOM on First Avenue. A substantial renovation project has just been completed on our 1938 building.

We have appointed 6 new faculty since 2006.