Area of Focus
GAYAR's malaria scope focuses on identifying target proteins for antimalarial drug combinations, framed by the parasite's multi-stage life cycle, human-infecting species, and drug-resistance challenge.
01 · Understanding the area
GAYAR's current malaria scope is identifying target proteins for antimalarial drug combinations. The life cycle, species diversity, and emergence of drug resistance provide the biological context for that work.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and spread mainly through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. The burden is concentrated in Africa: the WHO African Region accounted for about 95% of global malaria cases and deaths in 2024.
Plasmodium alternates between mosquito and human hosts. In humans, parasites first develop in the liver and then infect red blood cells; blood-stage parasites can later be taken up by another mosquito. These distinct stages create different biological targets and complicate treatment design.
Five Plasmodium species cause malaria in humans: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale, and P. knowlesi. P. falciparum is the deadliest and is most prevalent in Africa, while P. vivax is dominant in many regions outside sub-Saharan Africa.
Resistance can delay or prevent parasite clearance and reduce the effectiveness of antimalarial medicines. WHO identifies multidrug resistance and artemisinin partial resistance as major threats, making continued surveillance and effective combination therapies important.
Distribution map
This Malaria Atlas Project surface shows predicted age-standardized P. falciparum parasite prevalence in children aged 2–10 (PfPR2–10) for 2024. It visualizes one important malaria-prevalence measure rather than total malaria case counts.
