Why are transporters important for Leishmania parasites?

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by Leishmania parasites which affects millions of people worldwide. Current drugs are toxic, expensive and resistance is becoming a real problem in the fight against this disease. We are investigating the function of Leishmania transporter proteins to understand their role in parasite survival and drug resistance, and to find novel targets that could lead to the development of better drugs to treat this neglected tropical disease.