A multi-colour FluoroSpot and ELISpot reader for malaria research at Centre for Medical Parasitology

Malaria is a devastating disease that costs several hundred thousand lives every year. It is also an important cause of suffering among pregnant women and their unborn and newborn babies. Antibodies to a particular type of parasite molecules called PfEMP1 are of particular importance to the acquisition of protective immunity to the disease. In this project, we will investigate the importance of antibody cross-reactivity to different PfEMP1 variants that are important for acquired protection against malaria during pregnancy. The project is likely to provide novel insights regarding malaria in pregnancy, and by extension about protective immunity to malaria in general.