Student Success

Welcome Edward Valencia Ayala — Postdoctoral Researcher

The Marques Lab welcomes Edward Valencia Ayala (pictured second from right), who joins the team as a postdoctoral researcher. Edward adds further research depth to the lab’s ongoing work developing VLP-based vaccines and immunotherapy strategies against neglected tropical diseases.

We’re excited to have him aboard as the lab continues to grow its research program on Leishmania, Trypanosoma cruzi, and tick-borne disease vaccines.

Reed Lambert & Lemly Bumgarner Present at the Mississippi IDeA/EPSCoR Conference

MS-INBRE summer researchers Reed Lambert and Lemly Bumgarner presented posters on their summer research at the Mississippi IDeA/EPSCoR (MIEC) Conference 2026, with mentorship and support from Godspower Okeke and Ugochukwu Oduwe.

Reed’s poster, “Measuring 1-3 alpha-galactosyl on the surface proteins of Leishmania major,” and Lemly’s poster, “Alpha-Gal in Trypanosoma cruzi (Brazil Strain),” both build on the lab’s α-Gal vaccine research program targeting neglected tropical diseases.

Welcome Reed Lambert & Lemly Bumgarner — MS-INBRE Summer 2026 Researchers

The Marques Lab is excited to welcome Reed Lambert and Lemly Bumgarner as Summer 2026 research interns through the Mississippi INBRE program (IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence) — an NIH/NIGMS-funded initiative that places undergraduate students in active biomedical research environments across Mississippi.

Both students are gaining hands-on experience in parasitology techniques, VLP vaccine platforms, and immunological assays targeting Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi. Reed and Lemly conduct their research under the direct mentorship of Godspower N. Okeke, Giorgi Kenkebashvili, and Ugochukwu K. Oduwe.

New Review Published in Frontiers in Microbiology

“Leishmaniasis: pathogenesis, host immunity, and the evolving landscape of immunotherapy and immunochemotherapy”

The entire Marques Lab contributed to this major open-access narrative review, synthesizing current understanding of Leishmania pathogenesis and host immunity — from the Th1/Th2 immunological balance and IL-10-driven immune exhaustion to current treatment strategies.

The review evaluates the full treatment landscape (pentavalent antimonials, amphotericin B, miltefosine) and examines immunotherapy platforms including TLR agonists, cytokine-based therapies, therapeutic vaccines, and the lab’s own α-Gal epitope-targeted virus-like particles (VLPs) as strategies to restore protective immunity across all clinical forms of leishmaniasis.

Marques Lab at AAI Immunology 2026 — Boston, MA

Ugochukwu Oduwe and Giorgi Kenkebashvili represented the Marques Lab at Immunology 2026, the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Annual Meeting held in Boston, Massachusetts.

Oduwe presented a poster on the lab’s Chagas disease vaccine program:

“Targeting SA-85 Trans-Sialidase with VLP-Based Peptides: A Promising Immunologic Strategy Against Chagas Disease”

The work demonstrates that VLP-displayed trans-sialidase peptides elicit strong antigen-specific immune responses against Trypanosoma cruzi — advancing the lab’s vaccine strategy for a disease affecting over 6 million people in Latin America.

1st Place — Graduate Oral Presentation, MAS 90th Annual Meeting

Godspower Okeke claimed first place in the graduate oral presentation competition at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS) 90th Annual Meeting. His presentation covered a novel combination strategy targeting Leishmania using α-Gal virus-like particles and miltefosine.

Featured in Guardian Nigeria: Innovating to Combat Drug-Resistant Leishmaniasis

Godspower Okeke was featured in The Guardian Nigeria for his research on a dual-modality approach to treating visceral leishmaniasis — a neglected tropical disease that disproportionately affects communities in northern Nigeria.

His approach combines α-Gal immunotherapy (virus-like particles displaying α-Gal epitopes) with miltefosine to achieve parasite clearance, long-term immune memory, and tissue restoration.

“Current treatments like miltefosine are essential but limited by issues such as relapses, toxicity, and emerging resistance.” — Godspower Okeke