Vaccines against malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax

This project involves identifying and prioritising candidate antigens for vaccine development, determining the optimal formulation and delivery of vaccine antigens, and developing assays to measure vaccine-induced immune responses that can be used in vaccine development and clinical trials.

Objective

We aim to identify and advance candidate antigens for vaccine development, including multiantigen and multi-stage vaccines, and to evaluate vaccine delivery platforms that are optimal for malaria vaccines.

Approach

In these studies, we use innovative approaches to identify specific malaria proteins (antigens) that are targeted by antibodies that protect against malaria.

We evaluate antibodies that prevent infection, or neutralise and clear malaria parasites in the blood, including antibody interactions with monocytes, macrophages and natural killer cells.

By identifying the specific epitopes targeted by protective antibodies we can design vaccines that maximally induce protective immunity against malaria.

We are evaluating different vaccine platforms and technologies for malaria vaccines, including nanoparticles and virus-like particles, mRNA vaccines, peptide-based vaccines, and viral-vectored vaccines.