The Global Malaria Challenge
Malaria remains one of the world's most devastating infectious diseases, claiming over 600,000 lives annually and causing approximately 247 million clinical cases worldwide. Despite decades of control efforts and billions of dollars invested in prevention and treatment, malaria continues to exact an enormous toll on human health, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where children under five years of age account for approximately 80 percent of all malaria deaths. The disease traps communities in cycles of poverty, as repeated infections impair cognitive development in children, reduce worker productivity, and strain already fragile health systems.
The Malaria Research Center was established in 1998 as a flagship program within the Vector and Vector-Borne Diseases Research Institute, bringing together expertise in parasitology, entomology, immunology, epidemiology, and clinical medicine. Our comprehensive approach addresses every aspect of the malaria transmission cycle, from understanding the molecular mechanisms that allow Plasmodium parasites to evade human immune responses, to developing more effective insecticides for controlling Anopheles mosquito vectors, to designing community-based intervention programs that achieve high coverage and compliance.
Researchers examining Plasmodium falciparum blood-stage parasites under high-resolution microscopy
Our center operates with an annual budget of 18.5 million USD, employing 67 research scientists, 45 technical staff members, and 38 field workers distributed across our headquarters laboratory and seven field research stations in malaria-endemic countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Mali, India, and Papua New Guinea. These field stations serve dual purposes as research outposts conducting longitudinal epidemiological studies and as training centers where local health workers develop expertise in malaria diagnosis, treatment, and vector control.
The emergence and spread of drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites represents an existential threat to malaria control efforts. Resistance to chloroquine, once the cornerstone of malaria treatment, became widespread across Africa in the 1980s and 1990s, necessitating a shift to more expensive artemisinin-based combination therapies. Now, worrying signs of artemisinin resistance have emerged in Southeast Asia and recently been detected in East Africa, threatening to undermine our most effective treatment option. Our center maintains the world's largest repository of drug-resistant parasite isolates, enabling comparative genomic studies that identify the genetic mutations conferring resistance and inform the development of strategies to preserve the efficacy of existing drugs while accelerating the discovery of new therapeutic compounds.
Research Programs
Parasite Biology & Genomics
Our molecular parasitology laboratory investigates the complex life cycle of Plasmodium species, from sporozoite invasion of hepatocytes to merozoite multiplication in red blood cells to gametocyte transmission back to mosquitoes. We employ cutting-edge genomic sequencing, CRISPR gene editing, and single-cell transcriptomics to identify essential parasite genes that represent potential drug targets and to understand mechanisms of immune evasion.
Drug Resistance Research
This program tracks the emergence and spread of antimalarial drug resistance through extensive field surveillance and laboratory characterization. We maintain a biobank of over 15,000 parasite isolates collected from patients across multiple continents, enabling us to monitor resistance patterns in real-time and predict where resistance will emerge next based on drug pressure and parasite population genetics.
Vaccine Development
Our vaccine research program pursues multiple complementary approaches including pre-erythrocytic vaccines that prevent liver-stage infection, blood-stage vaccines that reduce disease severity, and transmission-blocking vaccines that interrupt the parasite life cycle in mosquitoes. Our most advanced candidate demonstrates 78 percent efficacy in Phase II trials and is currently entering large-scale Phase III evaluation.
Vector Biology & Control
Understanding Anopheles mosquito behavior, ecology, and insecticide resistance mechanisms is crucial for designing effective control strategies. Our entomology team maintains insectaries housing colonies of multiple Anopheles species, conducts field studies of mosquito breeding sites and feeding preferences, and evaluates novel control technologies including gene drive systems and attractive toxic sugar baits.
Clinical Trials & Epidemiology
We conduct randomized controlled trials evaluating new drugs, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and intervention strategies. Our clinical research sites in Africa and Asia have enrolled over 45,000 participants in studies ranging from small safety trials of experimental compounds to large effectiveness studies of community-wide intervention programs. Rigorous epidemiological surveillance provides real-time data on disease incidence and guides adaptive control strategies.
Diagnostics & Surveillance
Rapid, accurate malaria diagnosis is essential for appropriate treatment and disease surveillance. We develop and validate novel diagnostic technologies including ultra-sensitive molecular assays capable of detecting low-level infections that traditional microscopy misses, and field-deployable devices that provide results within minutes. Our surveillance networks in endemic countries provide early warning of outbreaks and track changes in parasite populations.
Major Research Achievements
Completion of Phase II clinical trials for our multi-antigen malaria vaccine candidate, demonstrating 78 percent efficacy against clinical malaria over 12 months. Identification of novel genetic markers predicting severe malaria in African children, enabling risk stratification and targeted preventive treatment. Publication of comprehensive genomic surveillance data revealing the arrival of artemisinin-resistant parasites in East Africa, prompting immediate changes in treatment policy.
Discovery of a new class of antimalarial compounds targeting parasite protein synthesis that demonstrate efficacy against drug-resistant strains. These compounds, identified through high-throughput screening of 2.3 million chemical structures, show promise for development as next-generation malaria treatments. Launch of a five-country study evaluating seasonal malaria chemoprevention in areas of year-round transmission, challenging conventional wisdom about the geographic scope of this intervention.
Development of ultra-sensitive molecular diagnostic assays capable of detecting parasitemias as low as one parasite per milliliter of blood. These assays enable identification of asymptomatic infections that serve as silent reservoirs maintaining transmission in low-prevalence settings. Implementation of these diagnostics in elimination programs in Sri Lanka and El Salvador contributed to these countries achieving zero indigenous malaria transmission.
Characterization of kelch13 mutations mediating artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asian parasites and development of molecular surveillance tools now deployed in 35 countries to monitor the spread of resistance. Our work demonstrated that these mutations impose a fitness cost on parasites, explaining why resistance spreads slowly and providing insights into strategies to contain its spread through aggressive case detection and treatment.
Completion of the first large-scale trial of mass drug administration as an elimination strategy in Zambia, treating entire communities with antimalarial drugs regardless of infection status. While the intervention dramatically reduced transmission during the treatment period, parasite populations rebounded within months, teaching important lessons about the challenges of achieving sustainable elimination in high-transmission settings.
Current Research Focus
Universal Malaria Vaccine Development
The quest for an effective malaria vaccine has spanned more than a century, with numerous setbacks and disappointments along the way. The complexity of the Plasmodium parasite, with its multi-stage life cycle and sophisticated immune evasion mechanisms, has made vaccine development extraordinarily challenging. The first licensed malaria vaccine, RTS,S, shows only modest efficacy of approximately 30 percent and requires four doses, limiting its impact on disease burden. Our center is pioneering a next-generation approach that targets multiple parasite stages simultaneously.
Scientists preparing vaccine formulations for clinical evaluation
Our multi-antigen vaccine candidate incorporates proteins from sporozoites, liver-stage parasites, and blood-stage merozoites, stimulating comprehensive immune responses that prevent infection, block liver colonization, and reduce disease severity. The vaccine uses a novel adjuvant system that enhances antibody production and promotes long-lasting memory T-cell responses. Phase I safety trials in malaria-naive adults demonstrated excellent tolerability with no serious adverse events. Phase II efficacy trials conducted at our field sites in Kenya, Tanzania, and Burkina Faso enrolled 2,400 children aged 5 to 17 months who received three doses of vaccine or placebo and were followed for 12 months.
The results exceeded our most optimistic projections: 78 percent of vaccinated children remained free of clinical malaria compared to controls, while those who did develop infections experienced significantly milder disease with no cases of severe malaria requiring hospitalization. Antibody levels remained high throughout the follow-up period, suggesting durable protection. We are now planning Phase III trials involving 25,000 children across multiple countries to confirm these findings and gather the data necessary for regulatory approval. If successful, this vaccine could prevent tens of millions of malaria cases annually and represent the most significant advance in malaria control since the introduction of insecticide-treated bed nets.
Combating Drug Resistance
The emergence of artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia represents a potential catastrophe for global malaria control. Artemisinin-based combination therapies have been the cornerstone of malaria treatment for two decades, credited with saving millions of lives and driving dramatic reductions in malaria mortality. The loss of artemisinin efficacy could reverse these gains and return us to an era when malaria treatment options were severely limited. Our drug resistance research program employs a multi-pronged strategy to address this threat.
Through extensive genomic surveillance of parasite populations, we track the spread of kelch13 mutations that confer artemisinin resistance and identify new resistance mechanisms as they emerge. Our molecular epidemiology studies have revealed that resistance arose independently multiple times in Southeast Asia and has recently been detected in East Africa, raising urgent concerns about its potential spread across the African continent where the vast majority of malaria deaths occur. We work closely with national malaria programs to implement strategies for containing resistance, including aggressive case detection, ensuring complete adherence to full treatment courses, and deploying partner drugs that eliminate any parasites that survive artemisinin treatment.
Simultaneously, our drug discovery program searches for new antimalarial compounds that can replace artemisinins if resistance becomes widespread. We have screened over 2.3 million chemical compounds in high-throughput assays that test their ability to kill drug-resistant parasites. The most promising candidates undergo detailed characterization of their mechanism of action, safety profiles in animal models, and potential for oral formulation. We have advanced three novel compounds into preclinical development, with the lead candidate expected to enter human safety trials within 18 months. These compounds work through entirely different mechanisms than existing drugs, making them effective against parasites resistant to current treatments.
Malaria Elimination Science
As countries reduce malaria transmission through sustained control efforts, they eventually reach a point where elimination becomes feasible and cost-effective. However, the transition from control to elimination requires fundamentally different strategies. In high-transmission settings, interventions focus on reducing the burden of disease; in low-transmission settings approaching elimination, the goal shifts to interrupting transmission entirely by finding and treating every single infection. This demands ultra-sensitive surveillance systems capable of detecting infections at very low parasite densities, often in asymptomatic individuals who would never seek medical care.
Breakthrough Technology: Ultra-Sensitive Malaria Detection
Our laboratory developed a molecular diagnostic platform that can detect as few as 0.1 parasites per microliter of blood, representing a 1000-fold improvement over conventional microscopy. This technology uses loop-mediated isothermal amplification combined with highly sensitive optical detection, providing results in 45 minutes using portable battery-powered equipment suitable for field deployment. The system costs approximately 3 USD per test, making it economically feasible for large-scale surveillance in resource-limited settings. Elimination programs in Sri Lanka, El Salvador, and Mauritius have adopted this technology, contributing to these countries achieving and maintaining zero indigenous malaria transmission.
Our elimination research examines what combinations of interventions achieve sustained interruption of transmission in different epidemiological contexts. In areas with seasonal transmission, precisely timed interventions that coincide with the malaria season can have disproportionate impact. In areas with year-round transmission, more intensive and sustained interventions are necessary. We evaluate strategies including reactive case detection where teams investigate every confirmed malaria case and test all household members and neighbors, mass drug administration where entire populations receive antimalarial treatment regardless of infection status, and vector control intensification targeting mosquito breeding sites and adult mosquito populations.
One of the greatest challenges in elimination is managing the risk of reintroduction. In areas that have successfully eliminated malaria, imported cases from neighboring endemic regions can spark new transmission if vector populations are present and surveillance is not maintained. Our research on border screening strategies, rapid outbreak response protocols, and maintenance of elimination gains provides evidence-based guidance for countries protecting their malaria-free status.
Vector Control Innovation
Insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying have been the primary vector control tools for decades, credited with preventing hundreds of millions of malaria cases. However, widespread resistance to pyrethroid insecticides among Anopheles mosquitoes threatens the continued effectiveness of these interventions. In some regions, mosquitoes show near-complete resistance to pyrethroids, raising urgent questions about alternative control strategies. Our vector research program evaluates next-generation technologies that can supplement or replace conventional approaches.
We conduct field trials of dual-insecticide bed nets that combine pyrethroids with insecticides from different chemical classes, achieving higher mortality rates against resistant mosquitoes. Indoor residual spraying with non-pyrethroid insecticides shows promise but faces challenges related to cost, user acceptance, and environmental concerns. Attractive toxic sugar baits exploit mosquito feeding behavior, luring them to sugar solutions laced with insecticides; our field trials in Mali demonstrated a 70 percent reduction in mosquito populations and a corresponding decrease in malaria incidence.
Gene drive technology represents a potentially revolutionary approach that could theoretically eliminate malaria transmission by altering mosquito populations to make them incapable of transmitting parasites or reducing their reproductive capacity. Our center leads research on a gene drive system that disrupts female fertility genes in Anopheles gambiae, the primary malaria vector in Africa. Laboratory studies demonstrate that the gene drive spreads rapidly through caged mosquito populations, achieving near fixation within 10 generations. However, substantial research remains before this technology could be deployed in the field, including comprehensive ecological risk assessments, development of safeguards to prevent unintended spread, and extensive community engagement to ensure that affected populations understand and support these interventions.
Field Research Sites
| Location | Established | Transmission Setting | Primary Research Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kisumu, Kenya | 1999 | High, perennial | Vaccine trials, insecticide resistance monitoring |
| Bagamoyo, Tanzania | 2002 | High, seasonal | Drug efficacy studies, epidemiological surveillance |
| Tororo, Uganda | 2005 | Very high, perennial | Chemoprevention strategies, transmission dynamics |
| Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso | 2001 | High, seasonal | Vector control evaluation, vaccine trials |
| Bandiagara, Mali | 2008 | High, seasonal | Seasonal malaria chemoprevention, vector biology |
| Rourkela, India | 2012 | Low-moderate, seasonal | P. vivax research, forest malaria transmission |
| Madang, Papua New Guinea | 2007 | Moderate, perennial | Multi-species malaria, drug resistance surveillance |
Each field site operates as a comprehensive research facility with clinical services, entomology laboratories, and community outreach programs. Sites maintain longitudinal cohorts of individuals followed over multiple years, providing invaluable data on natural immunity development, infection patterns, and intervention effectiveness. Our field teams have established strong relationships with local communities, ensuring high participation rates in research studies and enabling rapid enrollment in clinical trials.
Field epidemiologists conducting household surveys in rural Kenya
Field sites serve dual purposes as research facilities and training centers. We host visiting researchers from universities and research institutions worldwide, providing hands-on experience in malaria epidemiology, clinical research, and laboratory techniques. Our capacity building programs have trained over 800 African and Asian scientists and health workers, many of whom have gone on to establish their own research programs and lead national malaria control efforts in their countries.
Leadership & Key Personnel
Dr. Carlos Herrera
MD, MPH from Johns Hopkins. Twenty years conducting clinical trials in Africa and Latin America. Oversees all vaccine and drug efficacy studies across seven field sites.
Dr. Amina Hassan
PhD in Biomedical Engineering from MIT. Developer of ultra-sensitive malaria detection platform. Leads implementation of molecular surveillance networks in 15 countries.
Dr. James Okello
PhD in Epidemiology from University of London. Expert in mathematical modeling of malaria transmission and elimination strategies. Advises multiple national malaria programs.
Recent Publications
Our center has published over 1,200 peer-reviewed articles since its establishment, with our research cited more than 48,000 times by other scientists. We prioritize open-access publication whenever possible, ensuring that our findings are immediately available to researchers and policymakers worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where access to subscription journals may be limited.
Partnerships & Collaborations
The complexity and global scale of the malaria challenge demands collaborative approaches that leverage expertise across institutions and disciplines. Our center maintains active partnerships with over 85 organizations worldwide, including leading universities, research institutes, pharmaceutical companies, and public health agencies. These collaborations accelerate research progress by combining complementary capabilities, sharing resources and data, and coordinating efforts to avoid duplication.
We serve as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Malaria Research, providing technical expertise to inform WHO guidelines on malaria diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Our scientists participate in WHO technical expert groups that evaluate new tools and strategies before recommending their deployment in endemic countries. This role ensures that our research directly influences global malaria policy and practice.
Academic partnerships with universities including Oxford, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, and numerous African and Asian universities facilitate student exchanges, joint research projects, and shared access to specialized equipment and expertise. We host approximately 25 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers annually, providing mentorship and training while benefiting from their fresh perspectives and technical skills.
Partnerships with pharmaceutical companies enable us to evaluate promising drug candidates and vaccine formulations in our clinical trial network. These collaborations operate under transparent agreements that ensure study results are published regardless of outcome and that any successful products will be made available at affordable prices in endemic countries. We have worked with GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Sanofi, and several biotechnology companies on antimalarial drug development programs.
We collaborate extensively with national malaria control programs in the countries where we operate field research sites. These partnerships ensure that our research addresses real-world challenges faced by health systems implementing control programs under resource constraints. Program managers provide invaluable feedback on the feasibility and acceptability of new interventions, while our research provides evidence to optimize their strategies. Several of our scientists hold joint appointments with ministries of health, facilitating seamless translation of research findings into policy.
Funding partnerships with foundations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria provide the financial resources necessary to sustain long-term research programs and maintain our network of field sites. These funders not only provide financial support but also facilitate connections between researchers, policymakers, and implementers, creating a coordinated ecosystem working toward shared goals.
Training & Capacity Building
Building sustainable scientific capacity in malaria-endemic countries represents a core mission of our center, reflecting our belief that lasting solutions to the malaria problem must be led by scientists and health professionals from affected countries themselves. Over the past 25 years, we have trained more than 1,800 individuals through programs ranging from short workshops to multi-year fellowship programs, creating a network of alumni who now occupy leadership positions in research institutions, universities, and health ministries across Africa and Asia.
Training Programs
Graduate Student Training
We host 15 to 20 graduate students annually who conduct their doctoral or masters research at our field sites or headquarters laboratory. Students receive mentorship from our senior scientists while maintaining enrollment at their home universities. This model provides hands-on research experience in state-of-the-art facilities while ensuring students receive degrees from accredited institutions. Alumni include current professors at universities in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Mali, India, and Papua New Guinea.
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Our postdoctoral program provides two to three years of advanced training in specialized research areas including molecular parasitology, genomics, clinical trial design, or mathematical modeling. Fellows lead their own research projects while receiving mentorship and career development support. The program attracts outstanding early-career scientists from around the world; approximately 70 percent of our fellows are from malaria-endemic countries. Fellows publish an average of five peer-reviewed articles during their tenure and most transition to independent research positions.
Short Courses & Workshops
We conduct intensive training courses ranging from one week to three months in duration, covering topics including malaria microscopy, molecular diagnostics, insecticide resistance testing, clinical trial monitoring, data management and analysis, and scientific writing. Courses combine classroom instruction with hands-on laboratory and field exercises. We train approximately 150 participants annually through these courses, with tuition, accommodation, and travel costs covered through training grants to ensure accessibility regardless of participants' institutional resources.
Field Epidemiology Training
This specialized program trains health professionals in applied epidemiological methods for disease surveillance and outbreak investigation. Participants work alongside our field teams, learning to conduct household surveys, analyze surveillance data, investigate malaria clusters, and communicate findings to stakeholders. The curriculum emphasizes practical skills immediately applicable in participants' routine work, strengthening local capacity for evidence-based decision-making.
Our training programs emphasize not only technical skills but also research ethics, scientific communication, grant writing, and leadership development. We recognize that scientific excellence alone is insufficient without the ability to secure funding, communicate findings effectively, mentor others, and navigate institutional environments. Alumni report that these professional skills have been as valuable as the technical training in enabling their career success.
Community Engagement
Successful malaria research and control requires active engagement with the communities most affected by the disease. Our field teams work closely with village leaders, health workers, teachers, and community members to ensure that research activities are understood, supported, and culturally appropriate. We employ community liaison officers who maintain ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, address concerns, and ensure that communities benefit from research conducted in their areas.
Before initiating any research study, we conduct extensive community consultations to explain the purpose, procedures, risks, and potential benefits. These consultations employ multiple formats including large community meetings, small group discussions, household visits, and visual aids to ensure information accessibility regardless of literacy levels. We emphasize that participation is voluntary and that declining participation will not affect access to health services. This commitment to genuine informed consent reflects our ethical obligations and practical recognition that sustainable research requires community trust and support.
Our field sites provide health services that extend beyond research requirements, ensuring that communities derive tangible benefits from hosting research activities. All study participants receive free malaria diagnosis and treatment according to national guidelines, regardless of whether they are currently enrolled in a specific study. Sites conduct community health education programs, distribute insecticide-treated bed nets, and support local health facilities with training and equipment. These activities represent our commitment to giving back to communities that make our research possible.
We prioritize local employment, hiring community members as field workers, data collectors, laboratory assistants, and support staff. These positions provide stable employment in areas where economic opportunities are limited, while ensuring that our teams include individuals with intimate knowledge of local languages, customs, and geography. Many of our longest-serving employees started in entry-level positions and have advanced to supervisory and technical roles through on-the-job training and formal education programs that we support.
Community advisory boards at each field site provide ongoing input on research priorities, study designs, and operational procedures. Board members, selected by their communities, meet quarterly with research leadership to discuss upcoming studies, review results from completed research, and raise concerns or suggestions. This participatory approach ensures that community perspectives shape our research agenda and helps prevent misunderstandings that could undermine community support.
Impact & Recognition
The impact of our research extends far beyond scientific publications and conference presentations. Our work has directly influenced international malaria policy, informed treatment guidelines adopted by dozens of countries, and contributed to the development of tools and strategies that have prevented millions of infections and saved hundreds of thousands of lives. This translation of research into real-world impact represents the ultimate measure of success for a center dedicated to addressing a devastating disease.
Our genomic surveillance data on drug resistance patterns has prompted updates to treatment policies in 23 countries, ensuring that patients receive antimalarial drugs to which local parasites remain susceptible. Without timely information on resistance patterns, countries continue using ineffective treatments, leading to treatment failures, increased mortality, and ongoing transmission. Our surveillance networks provide the early warning system necessary for adaptive treatment policies that preserve the efficacy of available drugs.
The ultra-sensitive diagnostic platform we developed has been adopted by malaria elimination programs in 12 countries, enabling detection of submicroscopic infections that conventional diagnostics miss. This technology has been particularly impactful in low-transmission settings approaching elimination, where finding and treating every infection is crucial. Sri Lanka credited our diagnostic technology as a key tool in their successful elimination campaign that led to WHO certification of malaria-free status in 2016.
Our research demonstrating the effectiveness of seasonal malaria chemoprevention led to WHO recommendations for this intervention and scale-up across the Sahel region of Africa. An estimated 45 million children now receive seasonal chemoprevention annually, preventing approximately 12 million malaria cases and 40,000 deaths each year. The cost-effectiveness of this intervention makes it one of the highest-impact health interventions available, with each dollar invested yielding substantial returns in lives saved and healthcare costs averted.
Recognition of our contributions includes the 2023 Prince Mahidol Award for Public Health, the 2021 Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, and the 2019 European Grand Prix for Innovation from the European Patent Office. Individual scientists from our center have received numerous honors including election to national academies of science, endowed professorships, and invitations to present keynote addresses at major international conferences. While we appreciate such recognition, our greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that our work makes a tangible difference in reducing the burden of malaria.
Join Our Research Community
We welcome inquiries from prospective students, postdoctoral fellows, visiting researchers, and potential collaborators interested in malaria research. We are also grateful for philanthropic support from individuals and organizations committed to advancing the fight against malaria.
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