Rate My Professor Lilach Sheiner

Professor Lilach Sheiner holds the position of Professor (Parasitology) in the School of Infection & Immunity at the University of Glasgow. She is an internationally recognized expert in eukaryotic parasite cell biology, researching apicomplexan parasites—including Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, and Plasmodium species that cause malaria—since 2005. Her research elucidates the fundamental mechanisms of parasite survival and virulence, with a particular emphasis on the biology, function, and biogenesis of endosymbiotic organelles such as the divergent parasite mitochondrion and the unique apicoplast plastid. Utilizing Toxoplasma gondii as a primary model organism, she and her team have developed widely used tools for Toxoplasma cell biology, made substantial contributions to apicoplast understanding, and pioneered research on Toxoplasma mitochondrial biology, including tool development and key discoveries.

Sheiner's key publications include 'Structure, assembly and inhibition of the Toxoplasma gondii respiratory chain supercomplex' (Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 2025), 'Numerous rRNA molecules form the apicomplexan mitoribosome via repurposed protein and RNA elements' (Nature Communications, 2025), 'Complexome profile of Toxoplasma gondii mitochondria identifies divergent subunits of respiratory chain complexes including new subunits of cytochrome bc1 complex' (PLoS Pathogens, 2021), and 'ATP synthase hexamer assemblies shape cristae of Toxoplasma mitochondria' (2021). In 2024, she was awarded a Wellcome Discovery grant exceeding £3.3 million over eight years to investigate Toxoplasma mitochondrial respiration and ATP synthesis in parasite survival, virulence, and persistence during animal infection. Her accolades encompass the C.A. Wright Medal from the British Society for Parasitology (2025) for exceptional contributions to parasitology, membership in the Young Academy of Scotland (2021), Royal Society of Edinburgh Personal Research Fellowship (2015), Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Leadership Fellowship (University of Glasgow, 2013), and NIH K99 Pathway to Independence Award (2013). As Deputy Head of Parasitology, she contributes to committees including the Wellcome Trust Expert Review Group 5 (2019) and Academy of Finland Life12_20 panel (2020), and delivers invited lectures at international conferences such as EMBO/FEBS courses and Weizmann Institute seminars.