Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Contact Info
Research Interests
- Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
- Plasmodium
- malaria
- iron
- hemozoin
- metal heme crystal
- chemotherapy
- drug discovery
- diagnosis
- Babesia
- Repurposed drugs
- SARS-CoV-2
- COVID-19 convalescent plasma
- COVID-19
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
Malaria is a “stealer of dreams” for most of Africa, which bears the brunt of more than 80% morbidity and mortality from this protozoan disease. I treated my first malaria patient as an intern at Washington University in 1988 and have been focused on this pathogen since that time.
I have 30+ years of research experience on malaria and the erythrocyte. My particular area of expertise focuses on heme, hemozoin and metal metabolism in the malaria infected erythrocyte revolving around diagnosis and drugs. I have made contributions to malaria drug action and resistance. My research work has also involved malaria clinical field studies in Bangladesh and Africa. In 2020, I pivoted from a mostly malaria bench researcher with limited observational human trials in Africa and Bangladesh to a COVID-19 clinical trialist. I am national PI on the successful effective early treatment of outpatient COVID-19 which prevented hospitalization with a single transfusion of high SARS-CoV-2 antibody titer convalescent plasma (NCT04373460). The Clinical Research Forum selected the work in the Top Ten published 2022 clinical research trials. We are working on a Biologic License Application for COVID-19 convalescent plasma for those immunosuppressed.
Honors & Awards
2024 American Academy of Microbiology 2024 Fellow Class
2023 2023 Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards (https://www.clinicalresearchforum.org/page/2023_Top10Awards)
2017 Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, Alpha Chapter
2011 The Bial Award 2010 DISTINCTION for “New uses for the old drugs”, BIAL Foundation
2000 The Pew Scholars Award in Biomedical Sciences, PEW Foundation
1997 Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences, Burroughs Wellcome
1994 Burroughs Wellcome Leadership Award A.M.A. for Health Care for Homeless, AMA
1988 MAP Readers Digest International Fellowship (Landour Community Hospital, Mussoorie, India)
1988 UAB Medical Graduating Class Citizenship Award (The Netter Series) for Community Service,
Select Publications
Selected Publications
Ma W, Balta VA, West R, Newlin KN, Miljanić OŠ, Sullivan DJ, Vekilov PG, Rimer JD. A second mechanism employed by artemisinins to suppress Plasmodium falciparum hinges on inhibition of hematin crystallization. J Biol Chem. 2021 Jan-Jun;296:100123. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA120.016115. Epub 2020 Dec 2. PMID:33239360;
Chong CR, Sullivan DJ Jr. New uses for old drugs. Nature. 2007 Aug 9;448(7154):645-6. PubMed PMID: 17687303.
Pisciotta, JM, Coppens, I, Tripathi, AK, Scholl, PF, Shuman, J, Bajad, S, Shulaev, V, and Sullivan Jr., D, The role of neutral lipid nanospheres in Plasmodium falciparum haem crystallization. Biochem J, 2007. 402(1): p. 197-204.
Sullivan DJ, Gebo KA, Shoham S, Bloch EM, Lau B, Shenoy AG, Mosnaim GS, Gniadek TJ, Fukuta Y, Patel B, Heath SL, Levine AC, Meisenberg BR, Spivak ES, Anjan S, Huaman MA, Blair JE, Currier JS, Paxton JH, Gerber JM, Petrini JR, Broderick PB, Rausch W, Cordisco ME, Hammel J, Greenblatt B, Cluzet VC, Cruser D, Oei K, Abinante M, Hammitt LL, Sutcliffe CG, Forthal DN, Zand MS, Cachay ER, Raval JS, Kassaye SG, Foster EC, Roth M, Marshall CE, Yarava A, Lane K, McBee NA, Gawad AL, Karlen N, Singh A, Ford DE, Jabs DA, Appel LJ, Shade DM, Ehrhardt S, Baksh SN, Laeyendecker O, Pekosz A, Klein SL, Casadevall A, Tobian AAR, Hanley DF. Early Outpatient Treatment for Covid-19 with Convalescent Plasma New England Journal of Medicine. 2022 March 30 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2119657
Franco A, Flores-Garcia Y, Zavala F, Sullivan DJ. Plasmodium berghei Purified Hemozoin Associated with DNA Strongly Inhibits P. berghei Liver-Stage Development in BALB/c Mice after Intravenous Inoculation. Infect Immun. 2023 Jan 9:e0030422. doi: 10.1128/iai.00304-22. PMID: 36622216.