This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Malaria is by far the world's most important tropical parasitic disease. It causes clinical illness in 300 million to 500 million people, 1.5 million to 2.7 million of whom die. Sub-saharian Africa remains the most malarious region in the world with ninety percent of cases and deaths, mostly among children, In this region, about 30% of outpatient consultations and up to 20% hospital admissions are due to malaria. This causes major disturbance in economic and social development. Malaria cases in the United States are linked to international tourism with about one thousand cases diagnosed and treated each year. Since the mid-1950's malaria prophylaxis has relied mostly on chloroquine because of its effectiveness and, notably its low cost. Chloroquine resistance has become widespread in different parts of the world. Mefloquine and quinine have been used extensively in areas of resistance to chloroquine, and proguanil for prophylaxis and treatment, but resistance to these drugs is becoming a substantial problem. The need for more efficacious and less toxic agents, particularly rational drugs that exploit pathways and targets unique to the parasite, is therefore acute. Plasmodium falciparum is an important intraerythrocytic protozoan pathogen, responsible for the most severe form of human malaria. The parasite undergoes a number of developmental stages in the human host and multiplies asexually in the red blood cell to effect its clinical symptoms and lethal outcome.Research in my laboratory focuses on how the malaria parasite responds to changing environmental conditions. Maintaining the parasite in culture is an essential step in our research toward understanding the basic biology of this parasite and future development of a vaccine or new antimalarial drugs. The GCRC supports the study by by drawing blood and transporting the sample to the research lab.
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