Project Title: Dynamics of natural immunity to malaria in adults
Project Description: Malaria infection is still responsible for millions of clinical cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths yearly, with the highest burden being reported in children under five years of age. Despite a tremendous effort to fight against malaria infection worldwide, the malaria burden has recently plateaued or even increased in some parts of the endemic regions. One of the causes of poor immunogenicity is thought to be immunomodulation due to not only malaria parasite exposure... Malaria infection is still responsible for millions of clinical cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths yearly, with the highest burden being reported in children under five years of age. Despite a tremendous effort to fight against malaria infection worldwide, the malaria burden has recently plateaued or even increased in some parts of the endemic regions. One of the causes of poor immunogenicity is thought to be immunomodulation due to not only malaria parasite exposure but also persistence of asymptomatic parasitemia. A cohort that concurrently follow participants in areas of low to high malaria exposure offers a unique opportunity to understand these changes. A well-characterized cohort in terms of malaria exposure and other relevant factors will also provide a database of potential participants for the next-generation malaria vaccine developed for adults. The project aims to determine the long-term malaria exposure status in adults residing in areas of low, moderate, and high malaria transmission and investigate the interplay between parasite exposure and malaria-related immunosuppression to inform next- generation malaria vaccine development for adults in malaria-endemic countries.
Principal Investigator : Ally Olotu
Department Name :
Time frame: (2023-10-02) - (2026-09-30)
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) (Normal)
External Collaborating Partners
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