Cytoadherence-mediated pathology in cerebral malaria

Professor Craig will be examining how cytoadherence – the process whereby red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite adhere to the walls of blood vessels – leads to severe cases of malaria. Working with colleagues in Liverpool, Glasgow and at the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, Professor Craig hopes the knowledge gained will help in the design of new drug treatments for severe malaria, targeted at preventing or reversing the adhesion of the red blood cells to blood vessels in the brain. Around one million people die each year from severe malaria, mainly young children and pregnant women in low-income countries.