2022 Future of Malaria Research Symposium
A hybrid symposium highlighting early career and emerging malaria researchers.
Friday, 28 October 2022
**VIDEO RECORDINGS ARE POSTED BELOW.**
The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute hosted its first hybrid symposium, the Future of Malaria Research on Friday, October 28, 2022. This annual symposium is unique in that it is hosted by postdoctoral fellows and PhD students; it also highlights early career scientists and emerging malaria researchers, giving them a forum to present their research, many for the first time. For this hybrid meeting, participants presented either in person at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, USA or via Zoom to include peers in Africa and Europe. Since 2015, the Symposium has been hosted each year prior to the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s annual meeting. More than 850 people registered to attend the hybrid symposium and more than 65% of participants represented malaria endemic counties. Video recordings of the sessions are posted below.
| Eastern Daylight Savings Time | Speaker, Affiliation, Presentation Title (Location) |
| 7:45am | In-person registration opens at the JHBSPH Monument Street entrance security desk |
| 8:00 - 8:30am | Coffee is available (Feinstone Hall) |
| 8:25am | Zoom webinar opens (please use your unique Zoom link issued through online registration) |
| 8:30 - 8:35am | Welcome: Peter Agre, Johns Hopkins University (Sheldon Hall) VIDEO |
| 8:35 - 8:45am | Symposium overview: Mary Gebhardt, Johns Hopkins University VIDEO |
| Moderator: Mary Gebhardt, Johns Hopkins University (Sheldon Hall) | |
| 8:45 - 9:30am | KEYNOTE LECTURE 1 | Jane Namuganga, Infectious Disease Research Collaboration, Uganda, "The challenges of malaria control in a high burden setting" VIDEO |
| 9:30 - 9:45am | Maurice Marcel Sandeu, Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, "Microbiota diversity of Anopheles gambiae and association with Plasmodium falciparum infection, the causative agent of malaria in Bankeng, a locality in southern Cameroon" |
| 9:45 - 10:00am | Chinmay V Tikhe, Johns Hopkins University, "Evaluation of non-live formulation of Chromobacterium sp. Panama (Csp_P) with an attractive sugar bait for the control of malaria vector mosquitoes" VIDEO |
| 10:00 - 10:15am | Eskindir Loha, University of Bergen and Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway, "Livestock reduced malaria in a setup where neither long-lasting insecticidal nets nor indoor residual spraying did: A cohort study" VIDEO |
| 10:15 - 10:45am | Break (Feinstone Hall) (Poster presenters please set-up posters in Feinstone Hall.) |
| Moderator: Anne Martin, Johns Hopkins University (Sheldon Hall) | |
| 10:45 - 11:00am | Sharon Patray, Johns Hopkins University, "Investigating the Mechanism by which the Circumsporozoite Protein (CSP) is Trafficked in the Sporozoite Stage of the Plasmodium Parasites" VIDEO |
| 11:00 - 11:15am | Success David, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, "Awareness, Perception and Willingness of Nigerians to take the RTS,S Malaria Vaccine" VIDEO |
| 11:15 - 11:30am | Sean Yanik, Johns Hopkins University, "Structure guided design of a P. falciparum mRNA vaccine targeting the AMA1-RON2 complex" VIDEO |
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11:40 - 12:15pm |
LIGHTNING TALKS | Session A | Session B VIDEO | Session C VIDEO | Session D VIDEO | Session E VIDEO | Session F VIDEO SESSION A | Sophie Berube, Moderator, Johns Hopkins University Bereket Tessema Zewude, Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia “Multilevel Logistic Regression Modelling to Quantify Variation in Malaria Prevalence in Ethiopia” Chilochibi Chiziba, University of Namibia “Association between malaria in children under the age of five and living in agricultural worker households in urban areas datasets from sixteen African countries” Ivonne Melissa Ramírez, University of Antwerp, Belgium “Estimating the Origin of Plasmodium vivax Recurrences After Radical Treatment Integrating Statistical and Genetic Approaches” Jerome Ndayisenga, African Research and Community Health Initiative (ARCH Initiative) “Factors Associated with Malaria among febrile patients with five years and older in Ngoma District-Rwanda” Patricia Ogba, Mcmaster University, Canada “Barriers and facilitators to access and uptake of intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine among pregnant women in Nigeria: a scoping review” Reinhard Kobbie Danku, West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) “Simian Malaria in Human, A study of communities inside Mole National Park.” Mónica V. Andrade, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil “The Economic Burden of Malaria: a systematic review” Dennis Aribodor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria “Issues limiting malaria elimination following community diagnosis for malaria control in Anambra State, Nigeria” Collen Saudu, Johns Hopkins University, USA “Climate change as a potential mosquito population control can foster elimination of malaria in Botswana” ---------------- SESSION B | Deepti Sarkar, Moderator, Johns Hopkins University VIDEO Jonathan Lawton, University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA “Breadth and Abundance of Plasmodium falciparum RIFIN and STEVOR Expression Is Associated with Cerebral Malaria in Malian Children” Sudhir Kumar, Seattle Children's Research Institute, USA “Malaria parasites utilize two critical but distinct membrane fusogens for gamete fertilization” Angélica Rosado-Quiñones, University of Puerto Rico - Medical Sciences Campus “Novel compounds targeting Plasmodium Glutathione S-Transferase with activity in multiple parasitic stages” Priyanka Singh, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, India “Plasmodium Topoisomerase VIB and Spo11 constitute functional type IIB topoisomerase in the malaria parasite” Himadri Shukla, Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR) – India “Plasmodium Ape1 is required for the efficient transition from liver to blood stage infection” Merel Smit, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands “Considerable post-treatment transmission after sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine/amodiaquine, near complete prevention of mosquito infection after artemether-lumefantrine and opportunities for sustainable research practices identified in a randomised clinical trial in Ouelessebougou, Mali.” Sung Jae Cha, Johns Hopkins University, USA “Characterization of the sporozoite-surface phospholipid scramblase as a ligand for Plasmodium sporozoite liver hepatocyte infection.” Debakshi Mullick, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel “Cryo-Electron Tomography investigations of chromatin dynamics in Plasmodium falciparum” ---------------- SESSION C | Emma Camacho, Moderator, Johns Hopkins University VIDEO Alicia Showering, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK “Exploring role of the skin microbiome and host genetics in human attractiveness to Anopheles mosquitoes” Andrea Smidler, University of California San Diego, USA “A confinable female-lethal population suppression system in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae” Awoke Minwuyelet, DebreMarkos University, Ethiopia “Application of metal-based Nanoparticles in the fight against Mosquitoes control (Diptera: Culicidae): a systematic review” Ayesha Aswat, WITS Research Institute for Malaria, South Africa “Can qPCR replace current Plasmodium falciparum detection methods in anopheline mosquitoes?” Dawit Hawaria, Hawassa University, Ethiopia “Enhanced survivorship and fecundity of malaria vector around irrigation area in Ethiopia” Emily Claudia Motta Yanac, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru “The impact of polarized light and physical-chemical water parameters on the malaria mosquito oviposition breeding site selection” Nathalie Amvongo-Adjia, Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies (IMPM), Cameroon “Evolutionary profile of knockdown resistance (kdr) mutation in Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii malaria vectors across mountainous plains of Cameroon” Kokila Sivabalakrishnan, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka “Biological Variation in the Invasive Malaria Vector Anopheles stephensi” Sare Issiaka, Institut de Recherche en Science de la Santé, Burkina Faso “Molecular bases of native fungi Metarhizium and their virulence against malaria mosquitoes in Burkina Faso” ---------------- SESSION D | Abeer Sayeed, Moderator, Johns Hopkins University VIDEO Stella Y. Sun, University of Pittsburgh, USA ”Cryogenic electron tomography reveals novel structures in the apical complex of Plasmodium falciparum” Abeba Gebretsadik Abeba, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Ethiopia,“Temporal dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum population in Metehara, east/central Ethiopia” Akindigh Terver, University of Jos, Nigeria “Molecular Distribution of Plasmodium falciparum Antimalarial Drug Resistance Genes in Plateau State North Central Nigeria” Akshay Dilip Bagwe, Sophia College (Autonomous), Mumbai, India “Evaluation of in vitro antiplasmodial activity of duttaphrynus melanostictus (scneider) skin extract” Joseph Ojo Sunday, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria “Prevalence of mutant dihydrofolate reductase gene (dhfr) and its implication on pyrimethamine resistance among asymptomatic health-seeking adolescents in rural areas” Sowmya R. Prabhu, Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India “Erythrocytic miRNAs as modulators of malaria disease progression and immunity” Ngum Lesley Ngum, Institute of medicine and medicinal plants studies “Assessing Asymptomatic Malaria Carriage of Plasmodium falciparum and Non-falciparum species in children resident in Nkolbisson, Yaounde Cameroon” Tosin Opadokun, McGill University, Canada “Isolation & characterization of extracellular vesicles produced during in vitro Plasmodium falciparum infection” Alessandro Grosso, University of Antwerp, Belgium “Combining mathematical and statistical models to estimate key malaria transmission parameters” ---------------- SESSION E | Opeoluwa Adewake-Fasoro (Sam), Moderator, Johns Hopkins University VIDEO Dhaneswar Prusty, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India “Rational designing of Peptide-Ligand Conjugates for the treatment of complicated malaria” Erick Figueroa-Ildefonso, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru “Absence of selection of the deletion of the pfhrp2 gene in Plasmodium falciparum in the Peruvian Amazon” Akancha Mishra, Central Drug Research Institute, India “Autophagy protein Atg7 is essential and druggable for maintaining malaria parasite cellular homeostasis and organelle biogenesis” Awosolu Oluwaseun Bunmi, Department of Biology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria “Comparison of the diagnostic performance of Plasmodium falciparum histidine rich protein 2 rapid diagnostic test (pfhrp-2 RDT), microscopy and nested polymerase chain reaction for optimum detection of falciparum malaria in Akure, Nigeria” Kayode Shadrach, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, Ghana “Epitope mapping and functionality of monoclonal antibodies against PfMAAP aimed at structurally guided malaria vaccine design” Navneet Kaur, Marquette University, USA “Detection of Plasmodium falciparum from filtered urine samples collected from pregnant women from Ghana via Loopamp Malaria PAN/Pf kit” Silas Yeboah, University of Ghana, Ghana “Evaluating the effect of synchronization methods on the susceptibility of static and suspension P. falciparum parasites to antimalarials” Yanka Evellyn Alves Rodrigues Salazar, Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Brazil, “Therapeutic response in Plasmodium vivax malaria: genetic variability of primaquine metabolizing enzymes and gametocyte clearance” ---------------- SESSION F | Margot Wohl, Moderator, Johns Hopkins University VIDEO Leandro da Costa Clementino, São Paulo State University, UNESP, Brazil “Anti-malarial activity of Furoxan (1,2,5-oxadiazol-2N-óxido) derivatives and their effect on calcium homeostasis in PfGCaMP3 parasites” Robert Kaaya, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Tanzania “Deletions of the Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 3 gene are common in field isolates from north-eastern Tanzania” Aastha Varshney, Central Drug Research Institute, India “Plasmodium PBANKA_0304500 is critical for transmission of parasite in mosquito” Fred Owino, Mount Kenya University, Kenya “Macrophage responses in placental malaria” Marco P. B. Pinto, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, EPE, Lisbon, Portugal “Malaria by Plasmodium falciparum” Peter Okutu, West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, Ghana “Characterization of IgG subclasses against Plasmodium malariae Reticulocyte Binding Protein 1a (PmRBP 1a)” Raksha Devi, Central Drug Research Institute, India “Plasmodium malonyl CoA-acyl carrier protein transacylase is critical for liver stage development and initiation of blood stage infection.” Shanda Edjah, University of Ghana, Ghana “Measuring antibody responses to crude malaria antigens in individuals of different haemoglobin genotypes” |
| 12:15 - 1:00pm | Lunch (Feinstone Hall) (Poster presenters please set-up posters in Feinstone Hall.) |
| Moderator: Adriano Franco, Johns Hopkins University (Sheldon Hall) | |
| 1:00 - 1:45pm | KEYNOTE LECTURE 2 | Joshua Tan, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, "Dissecting the antibody response to Plasmodium falciparum" VIDEO |
| 1:45 - 2:00pm | Nsoh Godwin Anabire, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana, "Mechanisms underlying spontaneous Plasmodium falciparum clearance in the postpartum period" VIDEO |
| 2:00 - 2:15pm | Megan Gliozzi, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Comprehensive identification of the Plasmodium falciparum RNA-protein interactome throughout asexual development" VIDEO |
| 2:15 - 2:30pm | Palak Patel, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, "Neutralizing and interfering human antibodies create antigenic diversion in Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1" VIDEO |
| 2:30pm | Closing of virtual meeting and talks session: Abhai Tripathi, Johns Hopkins University VIDEO |
| 2:30 - 4:30pm | IN-PERSON POSTER SESSION & RECEPTION (Feinstone Hall) |