Mohamed-Ali HAKIMI
@hakimi.bsky.social
🇩🇿 🇫🇷 scientist @Inserm - https://iab-grenoble.fr/
👀 Host-Parasite Coevolution: The Toxoplasma Paradigm
ParaFrap deputy director - https://www.labex-parafrap.fr/en/
EMBO member - https://www.embo.org/
🌍 pan-African idealist
#epigenetics #parasites
👀 Host-Parasite Coevolution: The Toxoplasma Paradigm
ParaFrap deputy director - https://www.labex-parafrap.fr/en/
EMBO member - https://www.embo.org/
🌍 pan-African idealist
#epigenetics #parasites
By any means necessary
November 12, 2025 at 6:53 PM
By any means necessary
A fantastic week in Grenoble hosting my friend Amit Sharma for our @inserm.fr IRP project. With Christopher Swale on board, they pulled off a cryo-EM structure in just a few days! A great reminder that science thrives on teamwork — and friendship. Grateful to @inserm.fr for the support!
November 1, 2025 at 4:30 PM
A fantastic week in Grenoble hosting my friend Amit Sharma for our @inserm.fr IRP project. With Christopher Swale on board, they pulled off a cryo-EM structure in just a few days! A great reminder that science thrives on teamwork — and friendship. Grateful to @inserm.fr for the support!
Christopher Swale just nailed his HDR — the top academic milestone in France 🎓He can now supervise PhD students on his own. Stellar talk, razor-sharp answers, the jury was impressed. Proud of you, Chris. 👏
October 30, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Christopher Swale just nailed his HDR — the top academic milestone in France 🎓He can now supervise PhD students on his own. Stellar talk, razor-sharp answers, the jury was impressed. Proud of you, Chris. 👏
Winter’s first snow over Grenoble, straight from the office view.
October 29, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Winter’s first snow over Grenoble, straight from the office view.
Four years, one PhD, many smiles… and a standout CV. Bravo Dr. @belenpachano.bsky.social Enjoy Munich with @siegel-lab.bsky.social and his dream team!
October 13, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Four years, one PhD, many smiles… and a standout CV. Bravo Dr. @belenpachano.bsky.social Enjoy Munich with @siegel-lab.bsky.social and his dream team!
On Friday, I had the privilege of speaking with a remarkable line-up of Artur Scherf alumni at a symposium devoted to his stellar contributions to parasitology in general and malaria specifically. It was wonderful to pay tribute to a friend and visionary whose legacy continues to inspire.
October 12, 2025 at 9:27 PM
On Friday, I had the privilege of speaking with a remarkable line-up of Artur Scherf alumni at a symposium devoted to his stellar contributions to parasitology in general and malaria specifically. It was wonderful to pay tribute to a friend and visionary whose legacy continues to inspire.
So proud of my PhD student Martina Shahinas 🌟 She gave a stellar talk and shared her latest results—still chasing the sexual stages of Toxoplasma. embo.org Conference / parafrap.bsky.social was a success with an amazing speaker lineup on the ☀️Île des Embiez, Côte d’Azur.
October 9, 2025 at 2:13 PM
So proud of my PhD student Martina Shahinas 🌟 She gave a stellar talk and shared her latest results—still chasing the sexual stages of Toxoplasma. embo.org Conference / parafrap.bsky.social was a success with an amazing speaker lineup on the ☀️Île des Embiez, Côte d’Azur.
Oh how fantastic evolution is… every day it drops a new plot twist. 🤯🧬 Nature, who coded you?! 🤩
t.co/yXmctCX6PA
t.co/yXmctCX6PA
October 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Oh how fantastic evolution is… every day it drops a new plot twist. 🤯🧬 Nature, who coded you?! 🤩
t.co/yXmctCX6PA
t.co/yXmctCX6PA
Congrats Dr. Silvia DIAZ MARTIN on a brilliant PhD defense. 🙏to jury Maryse, Thierry, Matthew, Ludovic & Diego for their sharp eval. Shout-out to Alexandre and Christopher for their steady mentorship. You made us proud Silvia and I saw the whole galaxy of family pride reflected in your dad’s eyes.
September 27, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Congrats Dr. Silvia DIAZ MARTIN on a brilliant PhD defense. 🙏to jury Maryse, Thierry, Matthew, Ludovic & Diego for their sharp eval. Shout-out to Alexandre and Christopher for their steady mentorship. You made us proud Silvia and I saw the whole galaxy of family pride reflected in your dad’s eyes.
Zeus had his Hydra ⚔️, now Toxoplasma has its own.
Meet Hydra: not a monster, but a brand-new protein domain.
It multimerizes like crazy & rewrites the chromatin landscape 🧬 in Toxoplasma.
Our team and colleagues from @embl.org #Grenoble just dropped the preprint 👉
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Meet Hydra: not a monster, but a brand-new protein domain.
It multimerizes like crazy & rewrites the chromatin landscape 🧬 in Toxoplasma.
Our team and colleagues from @embl.org #Grenoble just dropped the preprint 👉
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 6, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Zeus had his Hydra ⚔️, now Toxoplasma has its own.
Meet Hydra: not a monster, but a brand-new protein domain.
It multimerizes like crazy & rewrites the chromatin landscape 🧬 in Toxoplasma.
Our team and colleagues from @embl.org #Grenoble just dropped the preprint 👉
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Meet Hydra: not a monster, but a brand-new protein domain.
It multimerizes like crazy & rewrites the chromatin landscape 🧬 in Toxoplasma.
Our team and colleagues from @embl.org #Grenoble just dropped the preprint 👉
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thrilled to see our work featured on the cover of @embomolmed.org 🎉We identify new biomarkers to track chronic toxoplasmosis—paving the way for improved diagnosis and patient care.
doi.org/10.1038/s443...
It’s time to bring such tools to the clinic—let’s encourage biotech to take it from here.
doi.org/10.1038/s443...
It’s time to bring such tools to the clinic—let’s encourage biotech to take it from here.
July 11, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Thrilled to see our work featured on the cover of @embomolmed.org 🎉We identify new biomarkers to track chronic toxoplasmosis—paving the way for improved diagnosis and patient care.
doi.org/10.1038/s443...
It’s time to bring such tools to the clinic—let’s encourage biotech to take it from here.
doi.org/10.1038/s443...
It’s time to bring such tools to the clinic—let’s encourage biotech to take it from here.
Huge congrats @belenpachano.bsky.social on your PhD! Honored to have shared the journey. Your brilliance shines through your articles — past and future. You’ll be missed, but my lab will always be your home. Come back anytime. You’ve earned every success!
July 5, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Huge congrats @belenpachano.bsky.social on your PhD! Honored to have shared the journey. Your brilliance shines through your articles — past and future. You’ll be missed, but my lab will always be your home. Come back anytime. You’ve earned every success!
Massive shoutout to my dream team! 💥 Gladys & Christopher (co–first authors) et al. A squad of brilliant scientists but also clinicians. Nor forgetting our fantastic coll. Special thanks to our funders, especially @inserm.fr Transfert and MSD Avenir, for believing in this project from the start. 🙏
May 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Massive shoutout to my dream team! 💥 Gladys & Christopher (co–first authors) et al. A squad of brilliant scientists but also clinicians. Nor forgetting our fantastic coll. Special thanks to our funders, especially @inserm.fr Transfert and MSD Avenir, for believing in this project from the start. 🙏
Under the hood (mechanistically), it’s not just one switch running the show: 🧬 MORC and HDAC3 team up to control BFD1—the dormancy boss. But surprise: BSM plays by its own rules, skipping BFD1 entirely.
👉 There’s more than one road to parasite sleep mode.
👉 There’s more than one road to parasite sleep mode.
May 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Under the hood (mechanistically), it’s not just one switch running the show: 🧬 MORC and HDAC3 team up to control BFD1—the dormancy boss. But surprise: BSM plays by its own rules, skipping BFD1 entirely.
👉 There’s more than one road to parasite sleep mode.
👉 There’s more than one road to parasite sleep mode.
In this study we identify two biomarkers for chronic infection:
✅ BSM (Bradyzoite Serological Marker)
✅ BCLA (Cyst-associated antigen)
🧪 These markers nail cyst detection in mice and human.
High sensitivity. High specificity. Zero ambiguity. 🧪💥
✅ BSM (Bradyzoite Serological Marker)
✅ BCLA (Cyst-associated antigen)
🧪 These markers nail cyst detection in mice and human.
High sensitivity. High specificity. Zero ambiguity. 🧪💥
May 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
In this study we identify two biomarkers for chronic infection:
✅ BSM (Bradyzoite Serological Marker)
✅ BCLA (Cyst-associated antigen)
🧪 These markers nail cyst detection in mice and human.
High sensitivity. High specificity. Zero ambiguity. 🧪💥
✅ BSM (Bradyzoite Serological Marker)
✅ BCLA (Cyst-associated antigen)
🧪 These markers nail cyst detection in mice and human.
High sensitivity. High specificity. Zero ambiguity. 🧪💥
Current clinical tests can spot Toxoplasma infection but struggle to identify the dormant 😴 parasites. That’s bad news if your immune system takes a break—because this parasite loves to reactivate and “rumble in the jungle”.
Think:
🧠 Neurological disorders
Think:
🧠 Neurological disorders
May 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Current clinical tests can spot Toxoplasma infection but struggle to identify the dormant 😴 parasites. That’s bad news if your immune system takes a break—because this parasite loves to reactivate and “rumble in the jungle”.
Think:
🧠 Neurological disorders
Think:
🧠 Neurological disorders
Meet Toxoplasma —the microscopic zombie-maker. 🧟♂️ This neurotropic parasite infects ~1/3 of us, then goes quiet... While acute infections are usually mild, the chronic stage, marked by dormant bradyzoites in tissue cysts 🧠, is much harder to detect—and potentially dangerous.
May 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Meet Toxoplasma —the microscopic zombie-maker. 🧟♂️ This neurotropic parasite infects ~1/3 of us, then goes quiet... While acute infections are usually mild, the chronic stage, marked by dormant bradyzoites in tissue cysts 🧠, is much harder to detect—and potentially dangerous.
🙏Massive shoutout to our funders
April 11, 2025 at 11:07 AM
🙏Massive shoutout to our funders
And here's the twist: MORC binding drops when TgSNF2h is gone.
The ISWI complex (via TgSNF2h) acts as a gatekeeper, deciding what genes stay on or off at each stage of the parasite’s life.
In short: ISWI controls parasite identity.
The ISWI complex (via TgSNF2h) acts as a gatekeeper, deciding what genes stay on or off at each stage of the parasite’s life.
In short: ISWI controls parasite identity.
April 11, 2025 at 11:07 AM
And here's the twist: MORC binding drops when TgSNF2h is gone.
The ISWI complex (via TgSNF2h) acts as a gatekeeper, deciding what genes stay on or off at each stage of the parasite’s life.
In short: ISWI controls parasite identity.
The ISWI complex (via TgSNF2h) acts as a gatekeeper, deciding what genes stay on or off at each stage of the parasite’s life.
In short: ISWI controls parasite identity.
We used auxin-inducible degradation to knock down TgSNF2h and TgRFTS.
The result? Massive changes in chromatin structure and gene expression.
Chromatin closed.
Parasite development stalled.
The result? Massive changes in chromatin structure and gene expression.
Chromatin closed.
Parasite development stalled.
April 11, 2025 at 11:07 AM
We used auxin-inducible degradation to knock down TgSNF2h and TgRFTS.
The result? Massive changes in chromatin structure and gene expression.
Chromatin closed.
Parasite development stalled.
The result? Massive changes in chromatin structure and gene expression.
Chromatin closed.
Parasite development stalled.
Toxoplasma evolved two ISWI proteins: TgSNF2h and TgSNF2L. Despite looking similar structurally, these two have very different roles. TgSNF2h forms an ISWI complex with the transcription factor AP2VIII-2 and the scaffold protein TgRFTS.
Spoiler: TgSNF2L will step soon into the spotlight.
Spoiler: TgSNF2L will step soon into the spotlight.
April 11, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Toxoplasma evolved two ISWI proteins: TgSNF2h and TgSNF2L. Despite looking similar structurally, these two have very different roles. TgSNF2h forms an ISWI complex with the transcription factor AP2VIII-2 and the scaffold protein TgRFTS.
Spoiler: TgSNF2L will step soon into the spotlight.
Spoiler: TgSNF2L will step soon into the spotlight.
Exciting news! 🇫🇷 network ParaFrap is now on Bluesky! Calling all parasitologists (and beyond) to join us at 👉 @parafrap.bsky.social
Let’s connect and share! 🦠 #Parasitology
Let’s connect and share! 🦠 #Parasitology
December 5, 2024 at 12:41 PM
Exciting news! 🇫🇷 network ParaFrap is now on Bluesky! Calling all parasitologists (and beyond) to join us at 👉 @parafrap.bsky.social
Let’s connect and share! 🦠 #Parasitology
Let’s connect and share! 🦠 #Parasitology
