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Chandy John Lab

No single infectious organism causes more deaths in children less than 5 years of age than malaria. Malaria kills almost 1 million children every year, and infects more than 300 million people every year. But malaria is preventable, and work in developed countries has shown that it can be eliminated. Current efforts to control or eliminate malaria focus on decreasing the mosquito population that spreads malaria from one human to the next and reducing malaria infections in humans, so that there is less malaria for the mosquitoes to spread. Along with the elimination and control efforts, work is also being done to improve detection and treatment of malaria, for the millions who still become ill with malaria every year.

Pictured: malaria cells

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA (MINNEAPOLIS, MN; U.S.A.)

Our lab focuses on three major problem areas in malaria: 1) the relationship of changing transmission conditions to the development of immunity in malaria; 2) environmental predictors of malaria risk in epidemic-prone areas; and 3) the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria, with a particular focus on how the immune response to malaria relates to long-term neurologic and cognitive impairment in children with cerebral malaria. Our malaria research studies are done in collaboration with colleagues at the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kisumu, Kenya and Makerere University/Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

Pictured: the UMN lab team in front of the McGuire Translational Research Facility (TRF), where Dr. John's lab is located

KEMRI (KENYA) — UMN

UO1: Malaria transmission and immunity in highland Kenya

This research study assesses how immune responses change during periods of prolonged very low or absent transmission. The research study continues a long-standing research collaboration with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI).

Co-PI: John M. Vulule, PhD, Director, Center for Global Health Research, KEMRI-Kisumu, Kenya

Pictured: Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Kisumu, Kenya

D43: Translational research in malarial transmission and immunity in Kenya

This research training grant is to train Master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral students in the areas of immunology, epidemiology and biostatistics. A key feature of this training will be integrated core training that will allow students in each area become familiar with the basics involved in research in the other areas. This research training is being done in collaboration with Maseno University.

Co-Director: Wilson Odero, PhD, Dean of the School of Public Health and Community Development, Maseno University, Kenya

Pictured:

MULAGO HOSPITAL/MAKERERE UNIVERSITY (UGANDA) — UMN

	R01: Pathogenesis of cognitive/neurologic deficits in central nervous malaria This Uganda study focuses on cerebral malaria, a major cause of severe malaria that has a 15-20% mortality rate. Dr. John’s group was the first to prospectively study brain injury after malaria, and his studies showed that more than one in four children with cerebral malaria had impairment in thinking 2 years after the episode of cerebral malaria. His research is now assessing which immune responses and clinical factors are associated with long-term cognitive impairment, with the idea that if we can identify factors associated with cognitive injury, we can plan interventions that will combat these factors and protect the brain. Co-PIs: Richard Idro, MBChB, and Robert O. Opoka, MBChB Pictured:
	U01: Acute vs. delayed iron therapy: effect on iron status, anemia and cognition This study aims to assess if delayed treatment of iron in children with severe malaria will result in less iron deficiency, less anemia and better cognitive outcomes than treatment at the time of the malaria episode. Pictured:
	TLR9 polymorphisms, Hemozoin Load, and Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in the Development of Cerebral Malaria Pictured: Dr. Nadia Sam-Ugudu

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