How to stop malaria transmission

Alfred Cortés Closas

Institut de Salut Global Barcelona (ISGlobal), Spain

Malaria is a parasitic disease that is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. The most severe forms are produced by parasites of the species Plasmodium falciparum. In the bloodstream, most parasites multiply asexually, but only those that become sexual forms are able to infect a mosquito to continue its life cycle and spread the disease to other humans.

This project seeks to understand the conversion of asexual parasites into sexual forms. Some regulators of the process have recently been identified, but the first step is still unknown. A thorough understanding of the process will facilitate the development of new strategies to curb malaria transmission.

Dissecting the initial molecular events that trigger sexual conversion and transmission in malaria parasites

€499,400