My research plans in the immediate and long-term are based on recent research into cell surface gene families of parasite genomes. Genes expressed on the surfaces of parasites are instrumental to the host-pathogen interaction, frequently employed in antigenic variation and therefore are usually the most dynamic features of parasite genomes. Making sense of the enormous diversity and atypical evolution of these important features has formed the core of my recent work in Trypanosoma, Leishmania, Plasmodium, Candida and other parasites. In particular, I have discovered a recent contraction in genetic variation in the Human parasite Trypanosoma brucei that has resulted in increased recombination among its variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) genes. The task now is to apply my knowledge of reference genomes to molecular variation in the field, studying VSG evolution across populations and timescales to understand the importance of antigenic diversity to the severity and epidemiology of disease.