Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum is an opportunistic pathogen that causes a potentially life‐threatening disease in immunocompromised individuals. This parasite is also a potential bioterrorism agent. There are no effective treatments to cure cryptosporidiosis. Thymidylate kinase is an enzyme essential for nucleoside triphosphate biosynthesis in C. parvum. The C. parvum thymidylate kinase (CpTMPK) was cloned from C. parvum genomic DNA, and expressed in Escherichia coli. Presentation will include purification, and preliminary characterization of CpTMPK. The ultimate goal of this project is to design a high‐throughput screen to identify selective inhibitors of CpTMPK that could be used as lead compounds to develop a drug to treat cryptosporidiosis.