Mariko Dale

Mariko Dale is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Molecular Biology at Umeå University, Sweden, working within the Oliver Billker Lab at the Hospital area campus (6K and 6L). Her research centers on molecular host-parasite dynamics, specifically investigating Plasmodium berghei infection mechanisms in mosquitoes.

She earned her PhD from the University of Bern, Switzerland, where she studied Cryptosporidium parvum host-pathogen interactions, identifying exported parasite proteins and conducting single-cell transcriptional analysis in neonatal mouse infection models.

Dr. Dale's current work focuses on temporal monitoring of mosquito hemolymph metabolite alterations during Plasmodium infection to pinpoint critical parasite nutrients, combined with integrated single-cell host-parasite transcriptomics. Her methodologies bridge metabolomics and genomics to dissect infection mechanisms in malaria vectors, emphasizing dynamic metabolic dependencies and cellular response pathways.

As a core member of the Oliver Billker Lab, she operates at Umeå University's medical campus, utilizing advanced molecular profiling facilities to advance understanding of parasite-vector coevolution and potential transmission-blocking targets.