Mind the gap: bridging the divide between clinical and molecular studies of the trichomonads

As is often the case in the study of infectious diseases, there are those interested in the basic biology of the organism and those primarily concerned with the clinical aspects of infection, disease and treatment. Although it is not uncommon for these two sets of researchers to remain essentially separate, the modern era of genomics is increasingly bringing them together. Such is the case with the community of scientists studying Trichomonas vaginalis, a human protozoan parasite of the urogenital tract that causes the sexually transmitted disease trichomoniasis.