Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Gambia
Problem Statement
Malaria continues to be a public health challenge in endemic regions, especially those in the topical and sub-tropical parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa. Parasites and vectors continue to develop new ways of by-passing drug and insecticide treatment. The goal of this study is to evaluate the patho-immunological modulatory bi-directional relationship between the human gut microbiome and P. falciparum infections in children from southwest Nigeria with different malaria clinical manifestations.
Progress Highlights
Sample collection for this longitudinal study has been completed and discussions are underway to begin the laboratory aspect of the work. As sample collection is a prerequisite for carrying out any laboratory work, each of the objectives are yet to be started.
Key Findings
Our preliminary results have shown distinct signatures of specific microbiomes and regulatory elements that determine an individual's predisposition to malaria.
Potential Impact
Our study has the potential for a valuable contribution to understanding the roles of other pathogens and regulatory elements in malaria pathology. Importantly, there is a potential role for malaria diagnosis.
Summary
Malaria continues to be a public health challenge in endemic regions especially those in the topical and sub-tropical parts of the world such as sub-Saharan Africa. Parasites and vectors continues to develop new ways in by-passing drug and insecticide treatment. Dr. Oboh is looking at the interaction between the human gut microbiome and malaria infection in children and how this can be harnessed for possible alternative control.
Grantee Description
Dr. Mary Oboh is an ARISE fellow and a postdoctoral fellow in the Disease Control and Elimination at
MRCG at LSHTM in Gambia. She obtained her Ph.D. in Parasitology and Mycology from Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar in 2019. Her doctoral research was focused on the molecular epidemiology and evolution pattern of Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance associated markers.
Dr. Oboh’s long term goal is to broaden her molecular biology and bioinformatics computational skills necessary in understanding infectious pathogens. She hopes to empower young African researchers with relevant skills for solving today’s infectious disease problem that perturbed African population.
Project: Bi-directional patho-immunological modulatory effect of human gut microbiome and P. falciparum in children with varied clinical malaria manifestation in south-western Nigeria
This research aims to evaluate the bimodal patho-immunological impact of the human gut microbiome and P. falciparum infections in children with different clinical manifestation. Current malaria control strategies are bedevilled with the development of resistance both by the parasite and vector, hence there is need to look at other alternative measures that can be applied to mitigate the burden of malaria. This study will employ metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics and dual RNA-sequencing of the human gut microbiome (HGM) and P. falciparum in understanding the interplay between the HGM and malaria and how this impact on the progression of the disease. This study has the potential of designing possible future probiotic interventions for malaria control.
