Momar Ndao, DVM, MSc, PhD

During the past few years increased awareness of parasitic infections has led to newly recognized parasites, emerging pathogens, and bioterrorism considerations; the fields of diagnostic medical parasitology, treatment and vaccines are undergoing dramatic change. This laboratory is actively involved in 1) bringing cutting edge science to diagnose parasitic diseases and study host-parasite interactions; 2) developing new reagents for assays to detect diseases affecting northern communities in Quebec and Canada; 3) screening drugs to be used as therapies for protozoan parasitic disease; 4) developing vaccines to prevent parasitic diseases and 5) applying proteomic research for blood-borne transmissible diseases.
The National Center for Parasitology (NRCP) is an external reference laboratory for Health Canada. The NRCP’s goals include: 1) evaluation and development of assays for parasitic diseases, 2) provision of reference diagnostic tests for parasitic diseases, 3) epidemiological studies of human parasitoses and 4) parasite-related teaching and research.