Malaria

Luke Savage and Dave Newman led engineers at Exeter University in the United Kingdom in a program to develop a handheld, inexpensive battery-powered instrument that can rapidly diagnose malaria. By using magneto-optics to detect the hemozoin crystals produced as a byproduct of malaria parasite digestion of hemoglobin in the red blood cell, they avoid relying on invasive blood sampling.

Teun Bousema of Radboud University in the Netherlands proposed that geographic "hotspots" of malaria disease drive local transmission, and therefore that interventions would most efficiently be deployed if they targeted these hotspots. This project’s Phase I research demonstrated that hotspots of malaria transmission are present at all levels of endemicity and can be sensitively detected by serological markers of malaria exposure.

Jackie Obey of the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton in Kenya will test the efficacy of a diagnostic test for malaria in which small amounts of blood are mixed with an iron solution to create vibrant colors that indicate the amount of a protein released by the malaria parasite.

To fight emergence of drug and vaccine resistance in rapidly evolving parasites, Pradipsinh K. Rathod of the University of Washington in the U.S. will identify the parts of the malaria genome which contribute to rapid increases in mutations, and will screen for small molecules that inhibit these mechanisms. This project’s Phase I research demonstrated that hypermutagenesis does play a strong role in the development of drug resistance.

More than a million people die of malaria each year -- most of them infants, young children, and pregnant women, and most of them in Africa. Although severe malaria has a high mortality rate, some children in areas where the disease is endemic might experience only one or two episodes of severe illness before they become resistant to further bouts of the disease. Dr.

A lack of early diagnosis of pathogens is a major component inflating the rates of death in tropical countries, with malaria being recognized as the most devastating parasitic infection. eBioPhy (Electronic Biophysics) is a diagnostic platform that uses biochemical and biophysical principles, in combination with data and communication tools, to probe the presence of pathogens in biological samples. The platform aims to bring real-time diagnostics to remote locations where health services are rare.

Brain infections, like malaria, can impair brain function such as memory, thinking, reasoning and speech. Young children who survived severe malaria, some of whom obtained rapid treatment with a new, effective drug, will be traced and assessed for brain function. Proof that treatment reduces disability, will expedite policy changes to prevent malaria and increase treatment access.

Expanding the successful e-voucher system to improve malaria prevention and fight new globalhealth threats through innovative health partnerships and mobile phone technology in Tanzania

Fighting insect-borne diseases and enriching urban agricultural land by using molasses: a common by-product from sugar factories This innovation allows the use of one single technology to address both health issues and agricultural productivity. Researchers at the Ifakara Health Institute will create a cheap CO2 production line through fermentation of molasses, a sugar production by-product. This approach not only establishes disease vector surveillance and control, it can also use the fermentation residues to enrich urban agricultural lands.