Manuel Llinas

Co-Director, Center for Malaria Research; Ernest C. Pollard Professor in Biotechnology

Manuel Llinas

Research Summary

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of gene regulation and metabolism in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum using functional genomics and metabolomics.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Plasmodium falciparum MORC protein modulates gene expression through interaction with heterochromatin

Maneesh Singh, Victoria Bonnell, Israel Silva, Verônica Santiago, Miriam Moraes, Jack Adderley, Christian Doerig, Giuseppe Palmisano, Manuel Llinás, Célia Garcia, eLife

Plasmodium blood stage development requires the chromatin remodeller Snf2L

Maria Theresia Watzlowik, Elisabeth Silberhorn, Sujaan Das, Ritwik Singhal, Kannan Venugopal, Simon Holzinger, Barbara Stokes, Ella Schadt, Lauriane Sollelis, Victoria A. Bonnell, Matthew Gow, Andreas Klingl, Matthias Marti, Manuel Llinás, Markus Meissner, Gernot Längst, 2025, Nature on p. 1069-1075

Metabolite profiling of Artemisia afra and Artemisia annua extracts reveals divergent effects on Plasmodium falciparum

Lucia Mamede, Gabriel W. Rangel, Lahngong Methodius Shinyuy, Naïma Boussif, Marie France Herent, Bernadette Govaerts, Olivia Jansen, Allison Ledoux, Pascal De Tullio, Joëlle Quetin-Leclercq, Manuel Llinás, Michel Frédérich, 2025, Phytomedicine

Structural characterization of the ACDC domain from ApiAP2 proteins, a potential molecular target against apicomplexan parasites

Marine Le Berre, Thibault Tubiana, Philippa Reuterswärd Waldner, Noureddine Lazar, Ines Li De La Sierra-Gallay, Joana M. Santos, Manuel Llinás, Sylvie Nessler, 2025, Acta Crystallographica Section D: Biological Crystallography on p. 38-48

“Multiple, redundant carboxylic acid transporters support mitochondrial metabolism in Plasmodium falciparum

Manuel Llinás, 2024, bioRxiv - The preprint server for Biology

Unraveling the complexities of ApiAP2 regulation in Plasmodium falciparum

Manuel Llinás, Ritwik Singhal, Isadora O. Prata, Victoria A. Bonnell, 2024, Trends in Parasitology on p. 987-999

A Plasmodium falciparum MORC protein complex modulates epigenetic control of gene expression through interaction with heterochromatin

Maneesh Kumar Singh, Victoria Ann Bonnell, Israel Tojal Da Silva, Verônica Feijoli Santiago, Miriam Santos Moraes, Jack Adderley, Christian Doerig, Giuseppe Palmisano, Manuel Llinas, Celia R.S. Garcia, 2024, eLife

DNA sequence and chromatin differentiate sequence-specific transcription factor binding in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Victoria A. Bonnell, Yuning Zhang, Alan S. Brown, John Horton, Gabrielle A. Josling, Tsu Pei Chiu, Remo Rohs, Shaun Mahony, Raluca Gordân, Manuel Llinás, 2024, Nucleic Acids Research on p. 10161-10179

Structural characterization of the ACDC domain from ApiAP2 proteins of the malaria parasite.

M Le Berre, T Tubiana, P Reuterswärd Waldner, N Lazar, I Li de la Sierra, J Santos, Manuel Llinás, S Nessler, 2024, bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Additional PfCRT mutations driven by selective pressure for improved fitness can result in the loss of piperaquine resistance and altered Plasmodium falciparum physiology

Laura M. Hagenah, Satish K. Dhingra, Jennifer L. Small-Saunders, Tarrick Qahash, Andreas Willems, Kyra A. Schindler, Gabriel W. Rangel, Eva Gil-Iturbe, Jonathan Kim, Emiliya Akhundova, Tomas Yeo, John Okombo, Filippo Mancia, Matthias Quick, Paul D. Roepe, Manuel Llinás, David A. Fidock, 2024, mBio on p. e0183223

Most-Cited Papers

Open Source Drug Discovery with the Malaria Box Compound Collection for Neglected Diseases and Beyond

Wesley C. Van Voorhis, John H. Adams, Roberto Adelfio, Vida Ahyong, Myles H. Akabas, Pietro Alano, Aintzane Alday, Yesmalie Alemán Resto, Aishah Alsibaee, Ainhoa Alzualde, Katherine T. Andrews, Simon V. Avery, Vicky M. Avery, Lawrence Ayong, Mark Baker, Stephen Baker, Choukri Ben Mamoun, Sangeeta Bhatia, Quentin Bickle, Lotfi Bounaadja, Tana Bowling, Jürgen Bosch, Lauren E. Boucher, Fabrice F. Boyom, Jose Brea, Marian Brennan, Audrey Burton, Conor R. Caffrey, Grazia Camarda, Manuela Carrasquilla, Dee Carter, Maria Belen Cassera, Ken Chih-Chien Cheng, Worathad Chindaudomsate, Anthony Chubb, Beatrice L. Colon, Daisy D. Colón-López, Yolanda Corbett, Gregory J. Crowther, Noemi Cowan, Sarah D’Alessandro, Na Le Dang, Michael Delves, Joseph L. DeRisi, Alan Y. Du, Sandra Duffy, Shimaa Abd El-Salam El-Sayed, Michael T. Ferdig, José A. Fernández Robledo, David A. Fidock, Isabelle Florent, Patrick V.T. Fokou, Ani Galstian, Francisco Javier Gamo, Suzanne Gokool, Ben Gold, Todd Golub, Gregory M. Goldgof, Rajarshi Guha, W. Armand Guiguemde, Nil Gural, R. Kiplin Guy, Michael A.E. Hansen, Kirsten K. Hanson, Andrew Hemphill, Rob Hooft van Huijsduijnen, Takaaki Horii, Paul Horrocks, Tyler B. Hughes, Christopher Huston, Ikuo Igarashi, Katrin Ingram-Sieber, Maurice A. Itoe, Ajit Jadhav, Amornrat Naranuntarat Jensen, Laran T. Jensen, Rays H.Y. Jiang, Annette Kaiser, Jennifer Keiser, Thomas Ketas, Sebastien Kicka, Sunyoung Kim, Kiaran Kirk, Vidya P. Kumar, Dennis E. Kyle, Maria Jose Lafuente, Scott Landfear, Nathan Lee, Sukjun Lee, Adele M. Lehane, Fengwu Li, David Little, Liqiong Liu, Manuel Llinás, Maria I. Loza, Aristea Lubar, Leonardo Lucantoni, Isabelle Lucet, Louis Maes, Dalu Mancama, Nuha R. Mansour, Sandra March, Sheena McGowan, Iset Medina Vera, Stephan Meister, Luke Mercer, Jordi Mestres, Alvine N. Mfopa, Raj N. Misra, Seunghyun Moon, John P. Moore, Francielly Morais Rodrigues da Costa, Joachim Müller, Arantza Muriana, Stephen Nakazawa Hewitt, Bakela Nare, Carl Nathan, Nathalie Narraidoo, Sujeevi Nawaratna, Kayode K. Ojo, Diana Ortiz, Gordana Panic, George Papadatos, Silvia Parapini, Kailash Patra, Ngoc Pham, Sarah Prats, David M. Plouffe, Sally Ann Poulsen, Anupam Pradhan, Celia Quevedo, Ronald J. Quinn, Christopher A. Rice, Mohamed Abdo Rizk, Andrea Ruecker, Robert St. Onge, Rafaela Salgado Ferreira, Jasmeet Samra, Natalie G. Robinett, Ulrich Schlecht, Marjorie Schmitt, Filipe Silva Villela, Francesco Silvestrini, Robert Sinden, Dennis A. Smith, Thierry Soldati, Andreas Spitzmüller, Serge Maximilian Stamm, David J. Sullivan, William Sullivan, Sundari Suresh, Brian M. Suzuki, Yo Suzuki, S. Joshua Swamidass, Donatella Taramelli, Lauve R.Y. Tchokouaha, Anjo Theron, David Thomas, Kathryn F. Tonissen, Simon Townson, Abhai K. Tripathi, Valentin Trofimov, Kenneth O. Udenze, Imran Ullah, Cindy Vallieres, Edgar Vigil, Joseph M. Vinetz, Phat Voong Vinh, Hoan Vu, Nao Aki Watanabe, Kate Weatherby, Pamela M. White, Andrew F. Wilks, Elizabeth A. Winzeler, Edward Wojcik, Melanie Wree, Wesley Wu, Naoaki Yokoyama, Paul H.A. Zollo, Nada Abla, Benjamin Blasco, Jeremy Burrows, Benoît Laleu, Didier Leroy, Thomas Spangenberg, Timothy Wells, Paul A. Willis, 2016, PLoS Pathogens

Mapping the malaria parasite druggable genome by using in vitro evolution and chemogenomics

Annie N. Cowell, Eva S. Istvan, Amanda K. Lukens, Maria G. Gomez-Lorenzo, Manu Vanaerschot, Tomoyo Sakata-Kato, Erika L. Flannery, Pamela Magistrado, Edward Owen, Matthew Abraham, Gregory La Monte, Heather J. Painter, Roy M. Williams, Virginia Franco, Maria Linares, Ignacio Arriaga, Selina Bopp, Victoria C. Corey, Nina F. Gnädig, Olivia Coburn-Flynn, Christin Reimer, Purva Gupta, James M. Murithi, Pedro A. Moura, Olivia Fuchs, Erika Sasaki, Sang W. Kim, Christine H. Teng, Lawrence T. Wang, Asl Akidil, Sophie Adjalley, Paul A. Willis, Dionicio Siegel, Olga Tanaseichuk, Yang Zhong, Yingyao Zhou, Manuel Llinás, Sabine Ottilie, Francisco Javier Gamo, Marcus C.S. Lee, Daniel E. Goldberg, David A. Fidock, Dyann F. Wirth, Elizabeth A. Winzeler, 2018, Science on p. 191-199

Sexual development in Plasmodium parasites: Knowing when it's time to commit

Gabrielle A. Josling, Manuel Llinás, 2015, Nature Reviews Microbiology on p. 573-587

Genetic investigation of tricarboxylic acid metabolism during the plasmodium falciparum life cycle

Hangjun Ke, Ian A. Lewis, Joanne M. Morrisey, Kyle J. McLean, Suresh M. Ganesan, Heather J. Painter, Michael W. Mather, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, Manuel Llinás, Akhil B. Vaidya, 2015, Cell Reports on p. 164-174

Nutrient sensing modulates malaria parasite virulence

Liliana Mancio-Silva, Ksenija Slavic, Margarida T. Grilo Ruivo, Ana Rita Grosso, Katarzyna K. Modrzynska, Iset Medina Vera, Joana Sales-Dias, Ana Rita Gomes, Cameron Ross Macpherson, Pierre Crozet, Mattia Adamo, Elena Baena-Gonzalez, Rita Tewari, Manuel Llinás, Oliver Billker, Maria M. Mota, 2017, Nature on p. 213-216

Metabolomic profiling of the Malaria Box reveals antimalarial target pathways

Erik L. Allman, Heather J. Painter, Jasmeet Samra, Manuela Carrasquilla, Manuel Llinás, 2016, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy on p. 6635-6643

Red Blood Cell Invasion by the Malaria Parasite Is Coordinated by the PfAP2-I Transcription Factor

Joana Mendonca Santos, Gabrielle Josling, Philipp Ross, Preeti Joshi, Lindsey Orchard, Tracey Campbell, Ariel Schieler, Ileana M. Cristea, Manuel Llinás, 2017, Cell Host and Microbe on p. 731-741.e10

Open-source discovery of chemical leads for next-generation chemoprotective antimalarials

Yevgeniya Antonova-Koch, Stephan Meister, Matthew Abraham, Madeline R. Luth, Sabine Ottilie, Amanda K. Lukens, Tomoyo Sakata-Kato, Manu Vanaerschot, Edward Owen, Juan Carlos Jado Rodriguez, Steven P. Maher, Jaeson Calla, David Plouffe, Yang Zhong, Kaisheng Chen, Victor Chaumeau, Amy J. Conway, Case W. McNamara, Maureen Ibanez, Kerstin Gagaring, Fernando Neria Serrano, Korina Eribez, Cullin Mc Lean Taggard, Andrea L. Cheung, Christie Lincoln, Biniam Ambachew, Melanie Rouillier, Dionicio Siegel, François Nosten, Dennis E. Kyle, Francisco Javier Gamo, Yingyao Zhou, Manuel Llinás, David A. Fidock, Dyann F. Wirth, Jeremy Burrows, Brice Campo, Elizabeth A. Winzeler, 2018, Science

Dissecting the role of PfAP2-G in malaria gametocytogenesis

Gabrielle A. Josling, Timothy J. Russell, Jarrett Venezia, Lindsey Orchard, Riëtte van Biljon, Heather J. Painter, Manuel Llinás, 2020, Nature Communications

Regulation of Sexual Commitment and Gametocytogenesis in Malaria Parasites

Gabrielle A. Josling, Kim C. Williamson, Manuel Llinás, 2018, Annual Review of Microbiology on p. 501-519

News Articles Featuring Manuel Llinas

Mar 27, 2025

Four Penn State faculty elected AAAS Fellows

Four Penn State faculty members in areas ranging from agriculture to the biological sciences, geology and physics have been elected to the latest cohort of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

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Feb 19, 2025

Disrupting parasite gene regulation reveals new malaria intervention strategy

Malaria's deadliest parasite relies on precise gene regulation to survive. A new multinational study, including Penn State scientists, reveals key insights into these control mechanisms.

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Jan 15, 2024

Honors for Booker, Girirajan, Llinás

3 Penn State researchers have received awards and new titles

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Oct 17, 2023

Manuel Llinás named as the Ernest C. Pollard Professor in Biotechnology

Manuel Llinás, distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry in the Penn State Eberly College of Science, has been named the Ernest C. Pollard Professor in Biotechnology.

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Apr 18, 2023

Eberly graduate student receives Excellence in Mentoring Award

Victoria “Tori” Bonnell, a doctoral student in biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology (BMMB), has been selected to receive the Graduate Student Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Penn State Graduate School.

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Oct 26, 2022

Cancer drug could potentially be used against malaria

A cancer drug currently in clinical trials has shown the potential to protect from, cure, and prevent transmission of malaria. The breakthrough finding by an international team that includes researchers at Penn State offers new hope against a disease that kills over half a million people annually, most severely affecting children under five, pregnant women, and patients with HIV.

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Feb 17, 2022

Penn State biochemist Manuel Llinás named distinguished professor

Manuel Llinás, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry at Penn State, has been selected to receive the title of distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in recognition of his exceptional record of teaching, research, and service to the University community.

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Oct 26, 2020

Malaria parasites hide out in humans when it's not mosquito season

Malaria parasites survive the mosquito-free dry season by waiting silently in humans for the return of the rainy season that brings back with it mosquitoes. New research, by an international team including Penn State scientists, helps explain how the Plasmodium falciparum parasite survives the disruption to its lifecycle, which requires development within the mosquito host for transmission between people.

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Sep 18, 2019

New tool in fight against malaria

Redesigning molecules originally developed to treat the skin disease psoriasis could lead to an effective new drug against malaria, according to an international team of researchers.

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