Pardis Sabeti. Genetic Sleuth.
Millions Afflicted by Malaria and Lassa Fever
The Sabeti lab currently focuses on the genetics of the deadly diseases Lassa Fever and Malaria, which afflict millions of people each year. Sabeti works closely with doctors and scientists in western Africa to gather biological samples from local communities where these diseases are endemic. “Lassa Fever has been especially neglected because so many West Africans are immune to the virus, very likely due to natural selection,” she explains. “This clouds over how deadly it is, and how catastrophic it would be if it spread.”
To train African field personnel to collect biological samples, Sabeti used iMovie to create videos of the recommended process. “We needed to collect samples in twelve different sites in ten different countries,” she says. “We have people going there in person, but it always helps to have a reference so that everyone is collecting the same way. We also shoot documentary footage of our sites and the people we work with. I do the videos myself; I love doing them. iMovie makes it so easy, and I can whip something together pretty fast.”
Sabeti’s ‘Wonderful Scavenger Hunt’
By using technology to investigate both the genetic evolution of individuals as well as of the pathogenic organisms themselves (the Malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has already been mapped), Sabeti hopes to learn not only the way diseases evolve in human populations, but also how the organism adapts. This will help scientists tackle vexing problems such as drug resistance that impede disease control.
At age 32, Sabeti’s unique insights have already earned her a prominent place in the pantheon of today’s esteemed biologists. She’s been featured by CNN as one of “Eight Geniuses That Will Change Your Life”, and was named as one of 100 Top Living Geniuses by the UK Daily Telegraph. Her algorithm for natural selection is considered a significant breakthrough in genetic research, and is routinely used by scientists around the world to study the evolution of many species. “At every step we get gratification,” she says. “From training scientists throughout the world, to building diagnostics that can help on a day to day basis, and then doing the kind of research that will help us understand these diseases in the long term.”
“It’s a wonderful scavenger hunt,” she adds. “There you are at 3 a.m. and you’ve discovered something about how people evolve that nobody else knows. You get this thrill—it feels so great to be a scientist.”
