Investigation Of A Virulence Locus On Chromosome 9 Of Plasmodium Falciparum Utilising Improved Transfection Technology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$211,527.00
Summary
Worldwide, there are approximately 500 million cases of malaria per year with over 1 million deaths, predominately in children under 5 years of age in Africa. We have identified a region of the malaria parasites' genome that we believe is responsible for two aspects of the parasites life cycle. Firstly, there is a gene responsible for the development of the sexual stage of the parasite that allows transmission from humans to mosquitoes and secondly there are two other genes that allow the parasi ....Worldwide, there are approximately 500 million cases of malaria per year with over 1 million deaths, predominately in children under 5 years of age in Africa. We have identified a region of the malaria parasites' genome that we believe is responsible for two aspects of the parasites life cycle. Firstly, there is a gene responsible for the development of the sexual stage of the parasite that allows transmission from humans to mosquitoes and secondly there are two other genes that allow the parasite to evade the human hosts immune system. We intend to investigate these genes using newly developed genetic engineering tools with the ultimate aim of finding agents or vaccines that can block their action, thus preventing either transmission of the parasite or the severe effects of infection.Read moreRead less
Breaking Malaria's Lethal Grip: Targeting The Assembly Of An Adhesive Complex On Infected Red Blood Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$817,426.00
Summary
The malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, infects the red blood cells of its human victims. It causes them to stick to blood vessel walls in the brain, causing severe cerebral complications and death. Adhesion is mediated by a Velcro-like protein that is presented at the red blood cell surface. This project will fully elucidate the pathway for trafficking of the adhesion protein to the red blood cell surface with a view to finding new ways of interfering with malaria disease.
I am a microbiologist with expertise in virology and parasitology. My principal focus is understand the pathogenic processes adopted by the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum