In honor of World Malaria Day, ASTMH asked some of our malaria expert members and colleagues what inspired them to specialize in malaria, what stands out in the fight against malaria and what will be the economic benefit of a malaria-free world. Other interviews in this series include: Past President Christopher V. Plowe, MD, MPH, FASTMH; Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer of the President's Malaria Initiative; Philip Rosenthal, MD, FASTMH, Editor-in-Chief of American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Councilors Nicole Achee, PhD, ASTMH, Laurence Slutsker, MD, MPH, FASTMH, David A. Fidock, PhD, Rick Fairhurst, MD, PhD, FASTMH; Stephanie Yanow, PhD, Assistant Scientific Program Chair; and Col. Robert M. Paris of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
What situation or person inspired you to specialize in malaria?
My original interest in parasitology stemmed from a basic course that I took as a second-year student at Harvard Medical School in 1988. As an impressionable medical student, (ASTMH member) Jamie Maguire, MD, MPH, made the simple task of viewing parasites under the microscope extremely fascinating. Fast forward to the spring of 1998, when I came to interview at the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) in Bethesda. I had the opportunity to meet with (ASTMH Past President) Stephen L. Hoffman, MD, DTMH, FASTMH, then-Director of the NMRC Malaria Department, and to hear about the exciting research going on in malaria vaccine development at NMRC under his leadership. I realized this would be the perfect environment to build a career in malaria vaccine research. Working as a physician/scientist in the U.S. Navy has provided unparalleled opportunities in doing clinical research to assess candidate malaria vaccines.
Saving lives is what drives you, but what do you see as the economic benefit to eradicating malaria?
Nearly half of the world's population is at risk for malaria. According to the CDC, direct costs due to malaria have been estimated to be at least $12 billion USD per year. According to a Roll Back Malaria report from 2011 (referring to a 2004 survey), a negative malaria impact was reported by nearly three-quarters of companies in the sub-Saharan regions studied. The eradication of malaria would have a very large economic benefit, particularly to the world's most vulnerable populations.
In thinking about malaria control and elimination efforts in the last five years, what stands out most for you?
As someone who has devoted my career to the development of a malaria vaccine, I have been particularly excited about the progress being made with the whole organism malaria vaccine approach. Of course, the results reported in the WHO 2015 World Malaria Report are extremely encouraging. Between 2000 and 2015, malaria incidence rates decreased by 42 percent in Africa and 37 percent globally. During this same period, malaria mortality rates fell by 66 percent in the African Region and 60percent globally. We have definitely entered a new age of malaria vaccine development, control and elimination efforts.