News

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute recently hosted the biennial Malaria in Melbourne conference, first held in Melbourne in 2009. As far as academic conferences go, ‘Malaria in Melbourne’ is quite unusual because it is largely geared towards students, postdoctoral researchers, and research assistants, rather than established principal investigators, or ‘lab heads’ who are encouraged to attend, but discouraged from submitting abstracts, and thus presenting.

This makes for a relaxed, nurturing environment where those still establishing their career can hone their presentation skills and develop collaborations. Interestingly, it also means that the data presented at the conference is far more likely to truly be cutting edge and fresh, rather than previously published and recycled.

One important exception to the ‘no lab heads’ rule was the outstanding plenary presentation given by Audrey Odom John from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr John discussed the current need for novel non-invasive approaches to malaria diagnosis, and how volatile metabolites produced in the breath of those infected with malaria parasites might be harnessed to develop new diagnostic tests, without the need for a blood sample.

Malaria in Melbourne was well-attended by researchers from the Australian Centre for Research Excellence in Malaria Elimination (ACREME) and Doherty Institute researchers, and provided the opportunity to showcase their work on novel approaches for the surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment of malaria.

Dr Lauren Holz from the Carbone-Heath group received an award for her presentation on Glycolipid-peptide vaccination induces liver-resident memory CD8+ T cells that protect against malaria.

The Doherty Institute’s Elizabeth Aitken described exciting research aiming to tease-out the specific antibody responses associated with protection from placental malaria. Pregnant women, along with young children, are particularly vulnerable to malaria infection. In pregnant women, infection can lead to accumulation of parasites in the placenta, associated with increased risk of anaemia, stillbirth, and low birthweight. Understanding how women become protected from placental malaria will inform the design of vaccines to prevent the disease.

To read more about ACREME’s participation in Malaria in Melbourne, please visit their website.