Aug 13, 2020
Researcher Richard J. Martin
works predominantly on filarial parasites and how to develop drugs
with the
best parasite cleanse ability that can evade resistance.
He explains
Richard J. Martin is the
Clarence Hartley Covault Distinguished Professor and the Dr. E.A.
Benbrook Endowed Chair in Pathology and Parasitology at Iowa State
University. He specializes in filarial parasitology and tells
listeners about their impact on human health as well as describes
their physiology and ecology.
For example, he describes the life stages and habits of the worms
that cause river blindness and elephantiasis and how these diseases
result from the worm number and activity. He explains challenges to
eradicating parasites completely by discussing the heartworm
parasite existing in the U.S. despite effective sanitation.
Therefore, in struggling countries with bad sanitation, effective
anti parasitic medication for humans is a key part of the
battle.
He also ties this battle to
social and political forces that make this anti parasitic effort
especially challenging. For example, better governance and a
different motivation for medication funding could make differences
in a country’s ability to clean and sanitize these areas as well as
motivate drug companies to relieve the suffering of those with
these parasites.
In the effort to find the
best parasite cleanse that is not prone to resistance, the
ideal looks like a drug that can be take once a year to treat and
prevent all the filarial parasites. Dr. Martin describes one drug
that is moving to phase 3 trials, and says that if it gets through,
it will be a big breakthrough.
To find out more, google him and
find his research on research gate or send him an email. His
university website is
genetics.iastate.edu/people/richard-martin.
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK