Antigenic cartography of malaria parasites

Derek Smith, the pioneer of ‘antigenic cartography' in human influenza - a method that captures the antigenic diversity among a set of pathogen strains in the form of a map - , has involved me in testing whether the technique can be applied in a useful way to malaria. In conjunction with collaborators in Denmark, London, Melbourne, Edinburgh and Kenya, we have been analysing the patterns of response to malaria surface antigens (general ones as well as pregnancy-associated ones). A related area of work on the role of antigenic diversity in malaria disease is that of Dr. Faith Osier and colleagues assessing the importance of the breadth and depth of multi-antigen responses to protection against malarial disease.

Collaborators: Dr. D. Smith, Prof. Lars Hviid, Dr. J. Beeson, Dr. Sharon Cox, Dr. Alex Rowe, Dr. Faith Osier, Prof. Kevin Marsh.