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Dr Jan Slapeta

Dr Jan Slapeta

Lecturer in Veterinary Parasitology

McMaster Building (B14)
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney
New South Wales 2006, Australia
Ph: +61-2-935-12025
Fax: +61-2-935-17348
Email:

Qualifications

MVDr., Ph.D.

Career History

  • 1993 - 2001 University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic
  • 2001 - 2003 Wadsworth Center, National Institute of Health & NY State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA
  • 2003 - 2005 Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France
  • 2005 - 2007 Institute for Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases (IBID), University of Technology, Sydney
  • 2007 - present Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney

Teaching Areas

Veterinary Parasitology

Research

Protozoology, Microbial Evolution & Systematics, Diagnostic Applications

  • Protozoology
  • Microbial Evolution & Systematics
  • Diagnostic Applications

Research Interests

Jan has a broad understanding of the biology of parasites of both medical and veterinary importance, as well as the diseases caused by them.

He has a strong research profile in parasitology, gained from his experience in several research laboratories. He was awarded a Fogarty International Fellowship to pursue his career at the NIH in the USA. Following his time in the USA, he accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship at the CNRS in France before taking up a research fellowship at the University of Technology in Sydney.

Jan joined the Parasitology team in the Faculty in 2007. Jan specialises in the molecular identification and the evolution of protozoan parasites. His diagnostic techniques and biodiversity studies have received worldwide acceptance. He has a particular interest in applications of molecular biology towards elucidating the unique properties of parasites of medical and veterinary importance.

Contribution to the Profession and the Community

Member of the Australian Society of Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Research Network for Parasitology

Selected Publications

  1. Šlapeta J (2006) Cryptosporidium species in cattle: a proposal for a new species. Trends in Parasitology 22(10):469-474.
  2. Šlapeta J., Moreira D., Lopez-Garcia P. (2006). Global dispersal and ancient cryptic species in the smallest marine eukaryotes. Molecular Biology and Evolution 23(1) 23-29.
  3. Šlapeta J., Moreira D., Lopez-Garcia P. (2005). The extent of protist diversity: insights from molecular ecology of freshwater eukaryotes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 272(1576):2073-2081.
  4. Šlapeta J., Keithly J.S. (2004). Cryptosporidium parvum mitochondrial-type HSP70 targets homologous and heterologous mitochondria. Eukaryotic Cell 3(2): 483-494.
  5. Hajdušek O., Ditrich O., Šlapeta J. (2004). Molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp. in animal and human hosts from the Czech Republic. Veterinary Parasitology 122(3), 183-192.
  6. Šlapeta J.R., Modrý D., Votýpka J., Jirků M., Lukeš J., Koudela B. (2003). Evolutionary relationships among cyst-forming coccidia Sarcocystis spp. (Alveolata: Apicomplexa: Coccidea) in endemic African tree vipers and perspective for evolution of heteroxenous life cycle. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 27(3): 464-475.
  7. Šlapeta J.R., Modrý D., Kyselová I., Hořejš R., Lukeš J., Koudela B. (2002). Dog shedding oocysts of Neospora caninum: PCR diagnosis and molecular phylogenetic approach. Veterinary Parasitology 109(3-4): 157-167.
  8. Šlapeta J.R., Koudela B., Votýpka J., Modrý D., Hořejš R., Lukeš J. (2002). Coprodiagnosis of Hammondia heydorni in dogs by PCR Based on ITS 1 rRNA: Differentiation from morphologically indistinguishable oocysts of Neospora caninum. The Veterinary Journal 163(2):147-154.
  9. Šlapeta J.R., Modrý D., Votýpka J., Jirků M., Koudela B., Lukeš J. (2001). Multiple origin of the dihomoxenous life cycle in sarcosporidia. International Journal for Parasitology 31: 413-417.
  10. Šlapeta J.R., Modrý D., Votýpka J., Jirků M., Oborn'k M., Lukeš J., Koudela B. (2001). Eimeria telekii n.sp. (Apicomplexa: Coccidia) from Lemniscomys striatus (Rodentia: Muridae): morphology, pathology and phylogeny. Parasitology 122: 133-143.