Professor Alan Cowman AC, a laboratory head in the Infection and Global Health division, specializes in malaria research. He has been active in this field for over three decades and currently leads an interdisciplinary team. This team collaborates with industry partners to develop new drugs and vaccines for malaria.
Global Malaria Challenge and Current Vaccine Limitations
Malaria constitutes a significant international health threat, transmitted by infected mosquitoes. In 2023, approximately 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths were attributed to the parasitic disease. The research primarily focuses on Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, which are responsible for most malaria infections and fatalities.
Currently, two vaccines have received approval for P. falciparum. However, no vaccine exists for P. vivax. Existing P. falciparum vaccines target a protein present in the parasite's early life stage. These vaccines do not prevent the parasite's progression once it exits the liver, allowing disease to still occur.
The research team aims to address the requirement for malaria vaccines that target multiple stages of the parasite lifecycle and are effective against P. vivax. The investigation explores a new type of protein for its potential to elicit antibodies that can:
- Prevent infection.
- Reduce disease severity in the blood stage.
- Block transmission to mosquitoes.
Research Contributions and Scientific Goals
The research seeks to develop a multi-stage vaccine capable of targeting and offering protection against multiple malaria species beyond current vaccine capabilities. The objective is for a new vaccine to:
- Prevent infection at the liver stage.
- Reduce severity during the blood stage.
- Stop transmission to mosquitoes.
This research is projected to elucidate mechanisms by which malaria parasites invade human and mosquito cells, demonstrate how antibodies can inhibit this process, and provide a framework for future vaccine development.
The team is a member of the Multi-Stage Malaria Vaccine and Antibody Consortium, an initiative established by the Gates Foundation to prioritize multi-stage vaccine development. Participation in this consortium provides access to vaccine formulations, pre-clinical models, and expert guidance within the clinical development process.
The team's scientific goals are structured around three key objectives:
- To understand the function of the protein PTRAMP-CSS during the mosquito and liver stages of the malaria parasite's lifecycle.
- To develop human antibodies targeting PTRAMP-CSS and identify specific protein components effective in stopping the parasite.
- To utilize this information to design novel vaccine components that can prevent both malaria infection and its spread.
The project, titled "Creating a multi-stage multi-species malaria vaccine to treat malaria," is led by WEHI in collaboration with the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Monash University.