The Natural History of Malaria V.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Natural History of Malaria - host, parasite and vector interactions
IRAS ID
161220
Contact name
Julian Rayner
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Genome Research Ltd (operating as Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute)
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans caused by parasitic protozoans (a type of unicellular microorganism) of the genus Plasmodium. Commonly, the disease is transmitted by a bite from an infected female mosquito, which introduces the organisms from its saliva into a person's circulatory (blood) system. In the blood, the parasites travel to the liver to mature and reproduce. After emerging from the liver, they infect human red blood cells, where they multiply every 2-3 days, killing the red blood cells and causing a range of severe complications. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever and headache, which in severe cases can progress to coma or death. Malaria is one of the most significant global health burdens. Over 3 billion people live in areas classified as being at risk from malaria, with nearly 200 million cases and up to 750,000 deaths every year, primarily among children in sub-Saharan Africa (WHO World Malaria Report 2014 - http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/world_malaria_report_2014/en/).
This application covers a research programme which will look at host (human), vector (mosquito) and parasite (Plasmodium) interactions - from the whole organism down to molecular level - and hopes to discover more about how malaria is caused, how it might be eradicated or the effects of the disease ameliorated.
The work will involve, for example: the use of human blood samples to culture the parasites; genetic and genomic analysis of the host, parasite and vector; parasite/red blood cell bonding and other protein-protein interactions; genetic modification of parasites and phenotyping (determining physical characteristics).
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0253
Date of REC Opinion
3 Aug 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion