Non-human primates (NHPs) are an extremely important animal model for malaria vaccine development. In this study, purified, vialed, cryopreserved Plasmodium knowlesi sporozoites (PkSPZ) were produced by Sanaria, Inc. and tested in studies by Sanaria, NIH, and UW to show that the PkSPZ product resulted in reliable, reproducible infections in two macaque species. Because PkSPZ are cryopreserved, the PkSPZ approach provides more experimental flexibility in planning and scheduling than when infected mosquitoes are used to inoculate the parasite. This NHP/PkSPZ model provides a rigorous experimental system that can be used to study anti-malarial immune responses including those that are inaccessible in humans. The study was led by Dr. Sumana Chakravarty at Sanaria. UW Acting Instructor Dr. Melanie Shears led the UW's pigtailed macaque NHP research in this study with support from the Washington National Primate Research Center P51 award (link).
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The PfGAP3KO genetically-attenuated parasite vaccine clinical trial is now published in Science Translational Medicine. In this study, participants were immunized three or five times with ~200 mosquito bites per dose containing the PfGAP3KO vaccine. Later, the participants underwent controlled human malaria infection and half of vaccinated participants were protected. The study shows the promise of GAP vaccines and paves the way for additional research to translate these findings to an even more efficacious and deployable vaccine. Thanks to the many partners involved in this study and to the volunteers for their generous participation in this study.
UW Summer Science Program (SSP) student Aida Chan wowed our lab team on August 16 with a stellar presentation summarizing her molecular diagnostic experiments and plans for her remaining immunology-focused experiments. Aida's time in the lab was made possible through the UW SSP and by generous time commitments from Murphy Lab team members Chris Chavtur, Anya Kalata, Weston Staubus, Dr. Rebekah Reynolds, and Mariko Seilie. Thanks to Aida and the team for your efforts all summer long! Thanks also to the UW SSP for sponsoring such a valuable experiential learning program.
Congratulations to Shruthi Shankar Raman for being awarded a Strandjord-Clayson Traineeship Award from the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology for the 2022-2023 academic year. This award recognizes Shruthi's academic excellence and commitment to her Master's training program. Her work in the laboratory is focused on the behavior of CD8+ T cells in the setting of malaria sporozoite vaccination and challenge. We are looking forward to seeing the data emerge from her projects. Thanks to DLMP for this generous support!
July 29, 2022 was a wonderful evening to celebrate the progress we've made on malaria in the past year. The lab team, families, significant others, and friends gathered at the Murphy's house for toasts, ping pong, dinner, and lots of camaraderie. Congrats to Dr. Dianna Hergott for completing her PhD this year and to PhD candidates Felicia Watson and Caroline Duncombe for obtaining fellowship funding support. Congrats also to faculty member Dr. Melanie Shears for obtaining her first fundable score on an NIH R21 grant! Cheers to the MMDL team of Mariko Seilie, Chris Chavtur, Weston Staubus, and Dr. Ming Chang for a successful CAP inspection and for tremendous progress on numerous clinical trial projects including a local CHMI study, an important clinical trial in sub-Saharan Africa, and an ongoing FDA project. Congrats and thanks to our vaccine production team led by Anya Kalata who has been busy at work producing high-quality DNA vaccines to support our mouse and non-human primate studies. Dr. Rebekah Reynolds was hailed for her leadership of our U01 project, which just had its first major publication in Nature Communications with Dr. Hai-Quan Mao's laboratory at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Reynolds and Sam Mak are also making amazing progress with the UW-based insectary that we share with Dr. Marion Pepper's nearby UW laboratory. Finally, thanks to our newer lab members Dr. Naveen Yadav, Dr. Ken Boey, Shruthi Shankar Raman, Ethan Conrad, and Emily Scott who are all making great contributions to our team. Finally, thanks to Dr. Reynolds as well for teaching us how to sabre champagne bottles in celebration of all of these achievements!
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April 2024
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