A Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health project to conduct genetic surveillance of malaria parasites in China is one of seven projects to receive grants this year from the Harvard Global Institute (HGI).
Led by Dyann Wirth, Richard Pearson Strong Professor of Infectious Diseases at Harvard Chan School, the project aims to boost China’s efforts to eliminate malaria. Wirth and colleagues will establish parasite origins, develop models of introduction and movement, and create an inventory of the genetic sequences of the parasite in China to update current global databases.
Data collected from this study may serve as the first evidence to support using genetic analysis to inform country-level policy on malaria eradication and elimination. Other Harvard Chan School faculty involved with the project include Caroline Buckee, associate professor of epidemiology; Daniel Neafsey, assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases; Chi-Man “Winnie” Yip, professor of the practice of international health policy and economics; and Daniel Hartl, Higgins Professor of Biology and professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases.
Since 2015, HGI has funded 15 research initiatives from various Harvard schools that investigate problems of global impact.
Read a Harvard Gazette article: 7 projects win Global Institute grants