Corinne Ong

Research interests

I am interested in the molecular epidemiology of food and waterborne cryptosporidiosis and cyclosporiasis. I have developed and used various genotyping techniques to determine the genetic characteristics of different parasite populations and have tried to infer linkages between human clinical cases and sources of contamination in the environment. I am particularly interested in a novel zoonotic cervine genotype of Cryptosporidium that is pathogenic to humans and has been reported not only in deer but in sheep and other animals such as laboratory-reared lemurs. Although my research focused mainly on drinking water in the past, I have also participated in studies on parasite contamination in agricultural areas and in fresh produce. One recent project was located in Vietnam. I would like to study the contamination of recreational water, aquatic environments and shellfish as well and hope to start new collaborative projects with members of this network.