Professor James Beeson, deputy director, Research Strategy and head of Burnet’s Malaria Immunity and Vaccines Group, has been awarded two grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to drive the development of innovative malaria vaccines.
The two related grants will fund the use of cutting-edge research technologies in multiple clinical studies in East Africa to identify antibodies that precisely target key malaria proteins. The studies will identify the proteins targeted by immune responses to protect against malaria and determine how these immune responses work to provide protection.
This knowledge will create new strategies for developing vaccines to eliminate malaria and tools to understand immunity and risk in areas where malaria is endemic.
“The team will draw insights from studies with adults and children naturally exposed to malaria in Kenya and Uganda,” Professor Beeson said.
“Using advanced immunology approaches and biostatistical modelling, we’ll uncover which antibody types and antigen combinations are most protective against malaria, helping prioritise targets for future malaria vaccine development.”
The projects are in collaboration with international partners including Melissa Kapulu at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Isaac Ssewanyana of Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration in Uganda, Faith Osier of Imperial College London in the United Kingdom and Pras Jagannathan of Stanford University in the United States, as well as PATH , a not-for-profit organisation based in the United States.
One grant is funded through Grand Challenges, a family of initiatives by the Gates Foundation and international funders to spark innovative solutions for global health and development challenges.
The second grant is under the Global Health Collaboratory Platforms, connecting Burnet’s Malaria Immunity and Vaccines group to a strong network focused on using technology and innovation to address global health challenges and create new biomedical solutions.
“Our combined collaborative approaches aim to pave the way for highly effective, next-generation malaria vaccines.”