# Mélissa Léger-Abraham Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology person location\_on 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur Boston, MA 02115 smartphone [617 432-2418]() email [melissa\_leger-abraham@hms.harvard.edu](mailto:melissa_leger-abraham@hms.harvard.edu) laptop\_windows [Leger-Abraham Laboratory Homepage](https://leger-abraham-laboratory.com) laptop\_windows [Leger-Abraham Lab Publications](https://leger-abraham-laboratory.com/publications/) My research program focuses on studying specialized translation mechanisms in parasites that significantly burden global health, including, but not limited to, *Leishmania*, *Babesia*, and *Plasmodium* organisms. Our efforts notably center on characterizing translation initiation factors and understanding their regulation in a parasite developmental stage-specific manner. Our primary goal is to identify peculiarities during protein synthesis in this important group of human parasites that could guide the rational design of drugs targeting specifically this important process. Our work is interdisciplinary and involves international and local collaborations (Dr. Michal Shapira, Ben-Gurion University, Israel, Dr. Cyrille Botté, Université Grenoble Alpes, France, and Dr. Ronal Micura, Innsbruck Universität, Austria, and Dr. Manoj Duraisingh, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). We use methods spanning several disciplines in the laboratory, including molecular and cellular biology and structural biology, such as X-ray crystallography, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). - ## Faculty Alphabetical [Faculty K-O](/people-alphabetical/k-o) - ## People Terms [Faculty](/people-terms/faculty) [Core/ Training Grant Faculty](/people-terms/core-faculty) [Accepting Rotation Students](/people-terms/accepting-rotation-students) [Biochemistry/ Molecular Biology/ Microbiology](/people-terms/biochemistry-molecular-biology) [Structural Biology](/people-terms/structural-biology)