Malaria Research in NIAID Labs
Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research (LMVR)
LMVR is dedicated to studies of malaria and insect vectors of infectious diseases. Research groups in the laboratory maintain an array of on-campus and overseas activities investigating disease-transmitting insects and broad areas of malaria biology and pathogenesis. Basic discoveries from these investigations support searches for new drug treatments, diagnostic tools, and vaccines.
LMVR supports a spectrum of clinical and laboratory research projects on malaria and the mosquitoes responsible for its transmission.
Malaria Vaccine Development Branch (MVDB)
MVDB was commissioned in 2001 to research, develop, and produce prototype malaria vaccines and conduct early-phase clinical trials of promising vaccine candidates. Its overarching goal is to develop malaria vaccines that will reduce severe disease and death among African children and eliminate malaria from low-transmission areas of the world.
MVDB is developing a vaccine that targets the “blood stage” of the deadliest malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. A blood-stage vaccine elicits immune responses capable of either destroying malaria parasites in the bloodstream or inhibiting parasites from infecting red blood cells.
back to top