Every year, more than half a million people die from malaria, mainly children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted through mosquitoes. Recently, two vaccines have become available that protect children from infection when they are bitten by infected mosquitoes. Although these vaccines will save the lives of many, they are most likely not good enough to eliminate and eradicate malaria. We are taking a different approach by developing a vaccine that prevents transmission to mosquitoes. If we can stop malaria parasite transmission to mosquitoes, mosquitoes will not get infected and will not spread the disease. Such a vaccine could therefore be a powerful tool to contribute to the eradication of malaria. We have recently identified a new, highly promising, malaria transmission blocking vaccine candidate. In this Biotech Booster project, we will further test and develop this new candidate. This work will involve the isolation and characterisation of antibodies against this vaccine. We will further study these antibodies at the molecular level to understand their mechanism of action and use this information to make the vaccine better. Together, these project activities will form a strong foundation for the clinical development of this promising new vaccine candidate that could play an important role in the fight against malaria.
