Dr. Adams is a malaria researcher in USF’s College of public Health. Broadly, his research focuses on host-parasite interactions and improving the understanding of processes critical for infection and pathogenesis in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. More specifically, his lab uses genomic studies to better understand key parasite processes and targets. A large scale transposon mutagenesis screen uses whole genome piggyBac insertional mutagenesis of P. falciparum to experimentally identify and validate critical processes and pathways that are novel anti-malarial drug targets. Chemogenetic profiling is used to define critical pathways linked to Artemisinin resistance, understand the mechanism of action of antimalarial drugs, and predict optimal drug combination therapies. Additionally, his lab uses functional genomic studies to identify essential genes of P. falciparum through whole genomic piggyBac mutagenesis and genotype-phenotype associations using forward genetic screens.