Population Genomics Of Plasmodium Vivax In Papua New Guinea
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$597,238.00
Summary
Plasmodium vivax malaria is a serious global public health problem that has not received the attention it deserves, despite having serious clinical implications and presenting a major problem for regional malaria control programmes. In a study of people living in a malarious area of PNG, we aim to investigate the diversity of natural parasite populations, to better understand the possible effects of malaria control interventions on transmission and human immunity.
Unravelling The Tetraspanin Web In The Schistosome Tegument.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$309,537.00
Summary
Infection with the human blood fluke, Schistosoma mansoni, is a major human ailment affecting almost 200 million people world wide and causing approximately 200 000 deaths per year. Current control efforts rely on anthelminthic drugs but, to sustain their effects, they must be applied for an indefinite period of time due to reinfection. This project will extend recent efforts to develop a vaccine for this organism and decrease the public health burden and mortality associated with infection.
SBP1 And Altered Structure And Function Of Malaria-infected Red Blood Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$439,550.00
Summary
Malaria is a serious disease affecting half the world's population. Every year, more than a million people (mostly children) die as a result of being infected with malaria parasites. Our work will help us to understand how the parasites alter normal human red blood cells and make them stick in organs such as the brain. Preventing the red blood cells from becoming sticky with new drugs will open up new lines of attack to combat this devastating disease.
Dissecting The Molecular Mechanisms Behind Actin Filament Disassembly - An Essential Process In Malaria Parasite Cell Movement
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,860.00
Summary
The malaria parasite’s survival is reliant on efficient cell movement - a process that depends on the remodeling of the parasite actin cytoskeleton. The aim of this project is to understand how the actin cytoskeleton is disassembled when the parasite moves and to dissect the role of a key parasite protein, PfADF1, in the process. This project will elucidate fundamental insights into a key aspect of malaria parasite biology and, significantly, will shed light on how parasite movement can be inhib ....The malaria parasite’s survival is reliant on efficient cell movement - a process that depends on the remodeling of the parasite actin cytoskeleton. The aim of this project is to understand how the actin cytoskeleton is disassembled when the parasite moves and to dissect the role of a key parasite protein, PfADF1, in the process. This project will elucidate fundamental insights into a key aspect of malaria parasite biology and, significantly, will shed light on how parasite movement can be inhibited.Read moreRead less
Genome-based Tools To Support Urogenital Schistosomiasis Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$429,644.00
Summary
More than 100 million sub-Saharan Africans have urogenital schistosomiasis, a disease that promotes malignant cancer and HIV/AIDS. Control depends on a single drug, making resistance an imminent threat. We will deliver new molecular tools to assess parasite genetic diversity and to prioritise a panel of anti-parasitic drug targets and vaccine candidates. These outcomes will deliver the next generation of interventions against urogenital schistosomiasis.
Export Of PfEMP1, The Major Virulence Protein Of P. Falciparum, To The Parasite-infected Erythrocyte Surface
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$588,532.00
Summary
The malaria parasite infects red blood cells in the human host and initiates major remodelling. This involves export of a major virulence protein to the surface of the red blood cell. This research seeks to understand how the parasite exports this protein, a key determinant of disease.
Are alternative histones important regulators of transcription in Plasmodium falciparum? Malaria parasites depend on tightly controlled expression of their genes for maintaining infection and causing disease. The project will identify mechanisms of gene control used by parasites; these mechanisms may provide targets for malaria therapies.
Pathophysiology Of Malaria-associated Lung Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,517.00
Summary
About 2 million people die each year from complications of malaria infection. A frequent, life-threatening complication of severe malaria is lung oedema. There is no specific treatment for the lung complications, which are poorly understood. There has been until now no good model system to study malaria lung complications. We have developed in mice an experimental model of malaria specifically to determine the mechanisms that cause lung pathology, which has never been done before. Such experimen ....About 2 million people die each year from complications of malaria infection. A frequent, life-threatening complication of severe malaria is lung oedema. There is no specific treatment for the lung complications, which are poorly understood. There has been until now no good model system to study malaria lung complications. We have developed in mice an experimental model of malaria specifically to determine the mechanisms that cause lung pathology, which has never been done before. Such experiments cannot be performed in humans for ethical and logistical reasons. We believe that pulmonary oedema is caused by products of the immune system and we will rigorously test this idea in our study. The aim is to learn more about the processes occurring in this disease so as to devise new treatment strategies.Read moreRead less