"How Do Humans Become Immune to Malaria?" Topic of Feb. 20 Lecture
On February 20, join Dr. Kevin Marsh, this year’s Gijs van Seventer Lecturer in Immunology, as he explores the question “How Do Humans Become Immune to Malaria?” The lectureship is in tribute to Dr. Gijs van Seventer, an internationally recognized immunologist in the field of human T cell cytokine biology, and a former member of the faculty of the Department of Environmental Health at Boston University School of Public Health.
Marsh, a world leader in malaria research, is Professor of Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford and Director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Wellcome Programme ( http://www.kemri-wellcome.org/) in Kenya, a renowned center for the integrated clinical, epidemiological and basic research in malaria.
Marsh has been involved in a number of important research achievements related to malaria treatment and prevention over the course of his career. He helped to develop the first comprehensive description of severe malaria in African children, which eventually formed the basis of national and international guidelines for treating the illness. With KEMRI colleague Bob Snow, Marsh produced a new synthesis and description of the clinical epidemiology of malaria in Africa. He also established a framework for a comprehensive program of immuno-epidemiological studies of immunity to malaria with his associates. Marsh counts among his most significant achievements building up of a Kenyan research center with a strong capacity development and training program. It currently has 27 Ph.D. students, 24 of whom are from East Africa.
In recent studies, Marsh and his colleagues demonstrated that the candidate vaccine, RTS,S, gives highly effective protection against clinical malaria in children. This year, the malaria vaccine will begin phase three trials, an advanced stage for drug development.
Gijs van Seventer Lecture in Immunology: “How Do Humans Become Immune to Malaria?” Presented by Kevin Marsh
Date: February 20, 2009
Time: 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Bakst Auditorium, BUSM Instructional Building, 80 E Concord St, Boston