Malaria Synergy Program
The Malaria Synergy Program (MSP) brings together experts with complementary expertise into a multidisciplinary program to address major roadblocks to achieving the goals of malaria elimination in the Asia-Pacific region and globally.
Malaria is a major global health problem. Progress in reducing the global burden stalled in 2015 and the burden increased in 2020. The Malaria Synergy Program aims to generate new knowledge, tools, and strategies to overcome major roadblocks in malaria detection, treatment, and prevention to accelerate progress towards elimination of malaria caused by P. Falciparum and P. vivax.
Timeline
2023–2028.
Approach
The Malaria Synergy Program investigators and our teams will focus on developing novel approaches to optimise drug treatment, achieving highly efficacious and long-lasting vaccines, and developing novel tools to map and discover drivers of malaria transmission.
Our 3 core themes are:
- new tools to detect and target malaria transmission; develop multi-parameter tools to accurately measure malaria transmission and guide targeted interventions and predict the emergence and spread of drug resistance
- optimising drug treatments and combating resistance; optimise antimalarial combination therapies to treat drug-resistant P. falciparum malaria and develop strategies to better target P. vivax and clear dormant liver-stage infections
- maximising the efficacy and impact of vaccines; identify the key determinants of vaccine efficacy and longevity and define antigenic diversity of vaccine candidates and identify strategies to overcome vaccine escape.
Partners
Funding partners
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
Collaborators
- University of Melbourne (Professor Julie Simpson, Peixuan Li, David Price, Peta Edler, Sophia Zaloumis, Ali Hagri, Megha Rajasekhar)
- WEHI (Professor Ivo Mueller, Eamon Conway, Rhea Longley, Lauren Smith)
- Deakin University (Charles Narh, Paolo Bareng, Zahra Razook, Kirsty McCann)
Project contacts
Professor James Beeson
Deputy Director, Research Strategy; Head, Malaria Immunity and Vaccines Group; Adjunct Professor, Monash University
Project team
Professor James Beeson
Deputy Director, Research Strategy; Head, Malaria Immunity and Vaccines Group; Adjunct Professor, Monash University
Professor Freya J.I. Fowkes
Deputy Program Director, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health; Head, Malaria and Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Professor Alyssa Barry
Honorary Principal Research Fellow
Professor Leanne Robinson
Deputy Director for International; Program Director, Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness; Senior Principal Research Fellow; Head, Vector-Borne Diseases and Tropical Public Health
Dr Fiona Angrisano
Deputy Head, Vector-borne Diseases and Tropical Public Health; Transmission Biology Team Lead
Associate Professor Michelle Boyle
Deputy Program Director, Disease Elimination; Head, Cellular Responses to Disease and Vaccination; Snow Medical Fellow
Dr Jo-Anne Chan
Senior Research Fellow
Dr Sandra Chishimba
Postdoctoral Researcher/Research Officer
Chiara Drago
Research Assistant
Dr Daniela da Silva Goncalves
Laboratory Manager
Timothy Ho
PhD student
Jessica Horton
Honorary Associate
Alessia Hysa
Research Assistant; PhD Student
Dr Ellen Kearney
Honorary Research Fellow
Dr Liriye Kurtovic
Senior Research Officer
Dulcie Lautu-Gumal
Jessie Lu-Lee
Project Manager
Dr Herbert Opi
Senior Research Fellow
Dr Damian Oyong
Senior Research Officer
Kaitlin Pekin
PhD Student
Dr Linda Reiling
Senior Research Fellow; Team Lead, Malaria, Vaccines and Child Health
Dr Adam Thomas
Senior Research Officer, Malaria Vaccines
Grace Wright
PhD Student
