Parasitology

Principle Investigator: Prof. Celia Holland

Prof. Celia Holland

School of Natural Sciences

Department of Zoology

Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

Email: cholland@tcd.ie Tel: + 353 1 8961096

Research Profile

My research interests have always been in the field of Parasitology, with particular emphasis upon helminthology. In broad terms, I am interested in the relative contributions of host exposure and susceptibility to parasite infection and, in particular, parasite intensity from an epidemiological standpoint. This encompasses nutritional, immunological, genetic and behavioural characteristics of the host and aspects of its environment. I have chosen to study these mechanisms in a number of helminth species, in both human and animal hosts, in the field and in the laboratory. My work therefore has public health as well as theoretical implications.

I have used a number of host-parasite relationships to explore these fundamental questions:

• The soil-transmitted nematode Ascaris, which is an important human parasite in the tropics and is also economically important in pigs;
• Toxocara canis, which infects dogs but is also an important zoonotic infection in humans and is perceived to be a public health problem in temperate regions;
• Helminth parasites in fish, particularly brown trout. The focus of this research has been the characterisation of helminth parasite communities in these hosts, including the population biology of the thorny-headed worms or Acanthocephala.

Please CLICK HERE for a list of publications.