Professor Shepherd's Research Explores How Parasites Switch to Survive without Oxygen

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Scientists estimate that 1 billion people worldwide are infected with parasitic helminths, round worms that live in soil and colonize human guts through dirty water. Gonzaga University Professor Jennifer Shepherd, Ph.D., has co-led a study showing that the helminths are able to survive in the low-oxygen environment of the human gut due to a unique enzyme variant.

Shepherd, professor and chair of Gonzaga’s chemistry and biochemistry department, notes the study raises prospects for new treatments to slow increasing resistance of parasites to available medications. Infections from these worms are common in less developed countries and have significant chronic negative consequences for child development.