Dr. Roland A. Cooper

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

M.Sc. Tropical Public Health, 1997
Harvard University School of Public Health

Ph.D. Pharmacology and Toxicology, 1996
University of Arizona

M.A. Aquatic and Population Biology, 1990
University of California, Santa Barbara

B.A. Biological Sciences, 1986
University of California, Santa Barbara

Teaching Responsibilities:

BIOL 303 Genetics
BIOL 405 Biology Seminar
BIOL 455/554 Parasitology
BIOL 704/804 Ecology of Vector-Borne Diseases

Research Interests:

My predominant research interest is the understanding of the action of drugs and drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum, the lethal human malaria parasite. Drug resistance is the single greatest obstacle towards malaria control in the endemic regions of the world, and no effective vaccines are available. Compounds such as quinine and artemisinin have been used for centuries to cure malaria, but we still do not have a good understanding of how these drugs kill the parasite. Artemisinin is the only available drug to which there is no documented resistance. However, since this drug will be the mainstay of chemotherapy for the next decade, resistance is expected to arise. Malaria parasites can be cultured in vitro, offering an excellent opportunity for pharmacological studies. I am currently using emerging post-genomic techniques including proteomics to identify proteins regulating the response and resistance to these drugs. This information can then be integrated with other genomic data such as RNA expression profiling by microarrays, and quantitative trait mapping to pinpoint genes involved in drug response. I am also interested in the "cost of fitness" to malaria parasites upon acquisition of mutations conferring drug resistance.

Selected Publications:

Kelly, J.X., Smilkstein, M., Cooper, R.A., Lane, K.D., Johnson, R., Janowsky, A., Dodean, R., Hinrichs, J., Winter R. and Riscoe, M. Design, synthesis, and evaluation of 10-N-substituted acridones as novel chemosensitizers in Plasmodium falciparum. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. In press.

Montgomery-Fullerton, M., Cooper, R.A., Kauffman, K.M., Shields, J.D. and Ratzlaff R.E. (2007). Detection of Panulirus argus virus 1 by PCR in Caribbean spiny lobsters. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 76 1-6.

Cooper, R.A., Lane, K.D., Deng, B., Mu, J., Patel, J. Su, X-z., Wellems, T.E., and Ferdig, M.T. (2007). Mutations in transmembrane domains 1, 4 and 9 of the Plasmodium falciparum CRT alter susceptibility to chloroquine, quinine and quinidine. Molecular Microbiology 63, 270-282.

Li, C., Shields, J.D., Small, H.J., Reece, K.S.,Hartwig, C.L., Cooper, R.A., Ratzlaff, R.E. (2006) Diagnosis of Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1) in the Caribbean spiny lobster using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 72, 185-192.

Cooper, R.A. Papakrivos, J., Lane, K.D., Fujioka, H., Lingelbach, K., and Wellems, T.E. (2005). PfCG2, a P. falciparum protein peripherally associated with the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane, is expressed in the period of maximum hemoglobin uptake and digestion by trophozoites. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 144, 167-176.

Cooper, R.A., Hartwig, C.L and Ferdig M.T. (2005). pfcrt is more than the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter; a functional and evolutionary perspective. Acta Tropica 94, 170-180.

Cooper, R.A. and Carucci, D.J. (2004). Proteomic approaches to studying drug targets and resistance in Plasmodium. Current Drug Targets-Infectious Disorders 4, 41-51.

Ferdig, M.T., Cooper, R.A., Mu, J., Deng B., Joy, D.A., Su, X-z and Wellems, T.E. (2004) Dissecting the loci of low‑level quinine resistance in malaria parasites. Molecular Microbiology 52, 985-997.

Dame, J.B. , Yowell, C.A., Omara-Opyene, L., Carlton, J.M.R., Cooper, R.A. and Li T.,(2003) Plasmepsin 4,the food vacuole aspartic proteinase found in all Plasmodium spp. infecting man. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 130, 1-12.

Mu, J., Ferdig, M.T., Feng, X., Joy, D.A., Duan, J., Furuya, T., Subramanian, G., Aravind, L., Cooper, R.A., Wootton, J.C., Xiong, M., and Su, X-z. (2003) Multiple transporters associated with malaria parasite responses to chloroquine and quinine. Molecular Microbiology 49, 977-989.

Wootton, J.C., Feng, X., Ferdig, M.T., Cooper, R.A., Mu, J.B., Liu, A., Baruch, D., Magill, A. and Su, X-Z. (2002) Genetic diversity and chloroquine selective sweeps in Plasmodium falciparum. Nature 418:320-323.

Cooper, R.A., Ferdig, M.T., Su, X-z., Nomura, T., Ursos, L.M.B., Fujioka, H., Roepe, P.D., Fidock, D.A. and Wellems T.E. (2002) Alternative mutations at position 76 of the vacuole membrane protein PfCRT are associated with chloroquine-resistance and unique stereospecific quinine and quinidine responses in Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular Pharmacology 61, 35-42.

Cooper, R.A. (2002) SDS-PAGE and western blotting of Plasmodium falciparum proteins. In: Malaria Methods and Protocols. D. Doolan, ed. The Human Press Inc., Totowa, New Jersey. pp. 177-188.

Fidock, D.A., Nomura, T., Talley, A. K., Cooper, R.A., Dzekunov, S.M., Michael T. Ferdig, M.T., Ursos, M.L.B., Sidhu, A.S., Naudé, B., Deitsch, K.W., Su, X-Z., Wootton,. J.C., Roepe, P.D. and Wellems, T.E. (2000) Mutations in the P. falciparum digestive vacuole transmembrane protein PfCRT and evidence for their role in chloroquine resistance. Molecular Cell 6, 861-871.

Fidock, D.A., Nomura, T., Cooper, R.A., Su, X-Z., Talley, A.K., Wellems, T.E. (2000) Allelic modifications of the cg1 and cg2 genes do not alter the chloroquine response of drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 110, 1-10.

Wellems, T.E., Wootton, J.C., Fujioka, H., Su, X-S., Cooper, R., Baruch, D. and Fidock, D.A. (1998) P. falciparum CG2, linked to chloroquine resistance, does not resemble Na+/H+ exchangers. Cell 94, 285-286.

Additional Publications