On the eve of World Malaria Day, April 25, the outstanding work of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) and Burnet Institute malaria researcher Dr Leanne Robinson, have been profiled superbly in COSMOS magazine.

The feature, by award-winning journalist Jo Chandler, charts the PNGIMR’s 40 years of research in a country with the highest malarial burden in the Western Pacific region, and among the highest burdens outside Africa.

It focuses also on Dr Robinson’s research in the field and the laboratory over a decade-plus based with the PNGIMR, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, and Burnet in the north coast port town of Madang.

“For me, understanding malaria, and ways that we might possibly intervene against malaria, is all about the people,” Dr Robinson, Burnet Senior Research Fellow and Research Group Leader, told COSMOS.

“Working closely with communities to identify who is infected, who is most at risk and how that is changing. Understanding the dynamic interplay between host, parasite and vector, so that we know what interventions will be effective and have a sustained impact.”

The article charts the many advances made in this field, some of the more unorthodox methodologies employed, the important roles played by a growing number of Papua New Guinean researchers, and the many significant challenges ahead, as well as the life cycle of the malaria parasite.

You can read the article by clicking here. We highly recommend it.