Assistant Professor Benoit Malleret

Benoit Malleret

PhD

Assistant Professor

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Affliations:

  • Immunology Translational Research Programme
  • Director, Electron Microscopy Unit (EMU)

    • Email: benoit_malleret@nus.edu.sg

    Tel: 6516 3289

    Research Interest

    Molecular mechanisms of Plasmodium species invasion

    Successful infection of vertebrate hosts by Plasmodium species depends on several factors, one of the main determinants being the presence of appropriate erythrocyte surface receptors. The two types of infected erythrocytes are reticulocytes (immature red blood cells) and normocytes (mature red blood cells). There is variation in the levels of surface receptors expressed by erythrocytes at different stages of differentiation, which lead to the differences in the cell tropism for Plasmodium parasites invasion. Our lab has identified several reticulocyte-specific receptors (CD71 and CD98) for Plasmodium vivax. The role of these receptors for other Plasmodium species is also addressed in our lab and to characterize the host-receptors involved in Babesia species, another family of erythrocytic parasites associated to zoonotic infections.

    Gut microbiome interactions with host cells

    The microbiome field is well characterized with metagenomics analysis but the topology of this environment in the gut is not well understood. We used imaging technologies including holo-tomography and electron microscopy to understand the interactions between viruses, bacteria, parasites, and the host cells. The lab has also developed a bacteriophage platform to intervene on the gut microbiome in the context of the dysbioses.

    Awards

  • Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Young Researcher of the Year Award 2020

    • Recent Publications

    1. Chooi WH, Ng CY, Ow V, Harley J, Ng W, Hor JH, Low KE, Malleret B, Xue K, Ng SY. Defined Alginate Hydrogels Support Spinal Cord Organoid Derivation, Maturation, and Modeling of Spinal Cord Diseases. Advanced Healthcare Materials. 2022
    2. Yu S, Vassilev S, Lim ZR, Sivalingam J, Lam ATL, Ho V, Renia L, Malleret B, Reuveny S, Oh SKW. Selection of O‐negative induced pluripotent stem cell clones for high‐density red blood cell production in a scalable perfusion bioreactor system. Cell Proliferation. 2022
    3. Deng L, Wojciech L, Png CW, Koh EY, Aung TT, Kioh DYQ, Chan ECY, Malleret B, Zhang Y, Peng G, Gascoigne NRJ, Tan KSW. Experimental colonization with Blastocystis ST4 is associated with protective immune responses and modulation of gut microbiome in a DSS-induced colitis mouse model. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 2022
    4. Malleret B*, Sahili AE, Tay MZ, Carissimo G, Ong ASM, Novera W, Lin J, Suwanarusk R, Kosaisavee V, Chu TTT, Sinha A, Howland SH, Fan Y, Gruszczyk J, Tham WH, Colin Y, Maurer-Stroh S, Snounou G, Ng LFP, Chan JKY, Chacko AM, Lescar J, Chandramohanadas R, Nosten F, Russell B, Rénia L. Plasmodium vivax binds host CD98hc (SLC3A2) to enter immature red blood cells. Nature Microbiology. 2021 (*co-corresponding author).
    5. Hang JW, Tukijan F, Lee EQH, Abdeen SR, Aniweh Y, Malleret B. Zoonotic malaria: Non-Laverania Plasmodium biology and invasion mechanisms (2021). Pathogens, Jul 13; 10(7), 889.
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