Saving lives by tackling malaria

CORDIScovery – unearthing the hottest topics in EU science, research and innovation

Why is it so hard to find a vaccine that works well against placental malaria? Ever thought about the challenges of irradiating 300 mosquitoes a second! And how do the dynamics of replication play out in our bodies?

Malaria is described by the World Health Organization as ‘perpetuating a vicious cycle of inequity’. Listen on to see how EU scientists are working to understand and mitigate the disease.

Catherine Merrick is professor of Parasitology in the Pathology Department at Cambridge University. She studies the human malaria parasite, aiming to improve our understanding of the fundamental biology of the parasite, and the impact of this biology on virulence.

Lars Hviid is professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology, at the University of Copenhagen. His work has improved our understanding of how people gradually acquire protection from malaria, and furthered the development of vaccines against this deadly parasite.

Hanan Lepek is the founder and CEO of Senecio Robotics. He works at the interface of biology and mechanical and software engineering, to create and deploy sterile mosquitoes on a large scale to reduce local mosquito populations.