Trypanosoma cruzi is a neglected tropical disease that is rarely diagnosed in its acute phase, leading to severe health outcomes later in life. The parasite is currently endemic to Central and South America but is spreading north as climate change increases the range of its triatomine insect vectors. It is estimated that 6 million people in the Americas are currently infected with T. cruzi, including 600,00 people within the US.The broad aim of this proposal is to understand the molecular mechanisms that T. cruzi employs to infect its host.