Leonardo da Silva Augusto, PhD

Department Affiliations
Assistant Professor

Education and Training
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2016
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2014
BS, Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Brazil, 2009  

Notable Publications
Augusto, L, Martynowicz, J, Amin, P. H., Alakhrasa, N.S., Kaplan, M.H., Wek, R. C.; Sullivan,  W.J.  Toxoplasma gondii co-opts the unfolded protein response to enhance migration and dissemination of infected host cells. mBio. 2020 Jul 7;11(4):e00915-20.  

Augusto, L; Amin, P. H.; Wek, R. C.; Sullivan, W. J. Regulation of arginine transport by GCN2 eIF2 kinase is important for replication of the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii. PLoS Pathog. 2019 Jun 13; 15(6):e1007746.  

Augusto, L, Wek, R. C.; Sullivan, W. J. Host sensing and signal transduction during Toxoplasma stage conversion. Molecular Microbiology. 2020 Oct 28; 10.1111/mmi.14634.  

Augusto, L., Martynowicz, J, Amin, P. H. Carlson, K., Wek, R. C.; Sullivan, W. J. TgIF2K-B is an eIF2α kinase in Toxoplasma gondii that responds to oxidative stress and optimizes pathogenicity. mBio. 2021 Jan 26;12(1):e03160-20. doi: 10.1128/mBio.03160-20.  

Martynowicz, J.; Augusto, L.; Wek, R. C.; Boehm, S. L.; Sullivan, W. J. Guanabenz reverses a key behavioral change caused by latent Toxoplasmosis in mice by reducing neuroinflammation. MBio. 2019 Apr 30; 10(2). PMID: 31040237. 

Augusto, L.; Martynowicz, J.; Staschike, K. A.; Wek, R. C.; Sullivan, W.J. . Effects of PERK eIF2α kinase inhibitor against Toxoplasma gondii. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2018 Oct 24; 62(11).  

Da Silva Augusto, L.; Moretti, N. S.; Ramos, T. C.P.; De Jesus, T. C. L.; Zhang, M.; Castilho, B. A.; Schenkman, S. A membrane-bound eIF2 alpha kinase located in endosomes is regulated by heme and controls differentiation and ROS levels in Trypanosoma cruzi. PLoS Pathog. 2015 Feb 6; 11(2):e1004618.  

For a detailed list of publications, click here.