Putting a stop to malaria

Malaria remains one of the biggest killers worldwide, urgently requiring the development of a novel treatment or effective vaccine. In turn, this is highly dependent on the coordination of research efforts and dissemination of innovations at the global scale.

The EU-funded EVIMALAR (Towards the establishment of a permanent European virtual institute dedicated to malaria research (EVIMalaR)) project was an international collaboration of 89 members from Europe, India, Australia and Africa who combined their expertise to study various aspects of the disease.

From a research perspective, the network focused on the molecular and cell biology of the malaria parasite and its interactions with both host and vector. Dissecting the mechanisms by which the parasite moves, recognises and invades the vector is central for devising strategies that block these processes. Scientists also followed a systems biology and modelling approach to enhance the annotation of the parasite genome.

Additional efforts concentrated on the pathogenesis of malaria and the mechanisms of immunity. A significant role of hyper-susceptible children in disease burden worldwide has been identified, urging stakeholders to take specific preventative and control measures.

Significant progress was made in all research topics and new vaccine candidates were explored. Project partners wanted to facilitate the translational nature of the project through interaction with small medium enterprises to effectively streamline drug and vaccine development.

Dissemination activities included public education through outreach programmes and tools as well as communication of information to peer groups. Finally, the establishment of a virtual institute for malaria research should help sustain malaria research efforts and contribute towards building an international malaria research institute.