Science, Technology and Engineering

Anders Laboratory

Department of Biochemistry

Research - Malaria Vaccines

The research in my laboratory is focussed on potential vaccine antigens from the asexual blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum, the cause of the most severe form of human malaria.

Antigen: identification and characterisation

There are numerous protein molecules in malaria parasites that are recognised by immune responses induced by infection with malaria parasites. We are using rodent malaria models and studies with P. falciparum in vitro to identify which of these proteins are the best vaccine candidates. The fine specificity of immune responses appears to be a critical determinant of protection against malaria and we are seeking to identify those epitopes that are recognised by protective rather than non-protective responses. Protective antibody responses often recognise conformational epitopes and an important aspect of our research is to identify the structural features of the antigens that generate critical conformational epitopes.

Evasion of protective immune responses

Malaria parasites have evolved numerous means of evading immune responses that act to limit parasite development. Many antigens have been identified that can protect mice against infection with lethal rodent parasites but it is difficult to eliminate parasites completely. We are carrying out vaccine trials in mice in order to identify the mechanisms parasites use to evade immune responses induced by antigens that are considered potential components of a vaccine against human malaria.

Human malaria vaccine development

We are working closely with collaborators in the Cooperative Research Centre for Vaccine Technology, the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research and the Swiss Tropical Institute to test some of the leading malaria vaccine candidates in clinical trials. A particular role of my laboratory is to develop the protein purification and refolding strategies that can be used to generate antigens of sufficient purity and in the appropriate conformation for use in clinical trials. We work closely with industrial partners who manufacture the clinical batches of antigens and with our collaborators who carry out the clinical trials in Brisbane and Papua New Guinea.