The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Dr James Beeson

Details

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Division: Infection and Immunity

Research Overview

Malaria is one of the leading major causes of mortality and morbidity globally, resulting in up to 3 million deaths and around 500 million clinical cases each year. The bulk of disease results from Plasmodium falciparum, and young children and pregnant women are at the greatest risk of malaria. Recent analysis suggests that P. falciparum is the leading single cause of deaths of children under 5 years of age (Elliott & Beeson, 2008).

The broad objectives of our research activities are:

• Understand the acquisition and maintenance of immunity to P. falciparum malaria in childhood
• Identify the targets of antibodies that provide protection against malaria and determine the mechanisms that mediate humoral immunity to malaria
• Understand the basis for the high susceptibility of pregnant women to malaria and identify immune responses that protect against malaria during pregnancy
• Develop strategies and interventions that reduce the burden of malaria in children and pregnant women in malaria endemic regions
• Provide training in malaria research for students, researchers, and health professionals, and contribute to improving public awareness of malaria

To achieve these objectives we work closely with collaborating institutes in malaria-endemic countries.

Research Projects

Immunity to malaria

Malaria in Pregnancy

Antibodies that inhibit malaria replication in the bloodstream

Trial of intermittent treatment of malaria in infants in Papua New Guinea

Major Publications

1. McCallum FJ, Persson KE, Mugyenyi CK, Fowkes FJ, Simpson JA, Richards JS, Williams TN, Marsh K, Beeson JG.
   Acquisition of growth-inhibitory antibodies against blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum.
   PLoS ONE. 2008;3(10):e3571 PMID: 18958278 [PubMed - in process]
2. Maier AG, Rug M, O'Neill MT, Brown M, Chakravorty S, Szestak T, Chesson J, Wu Y, Hughes K, Coppel RL, Newbold C, Beeson JG, Craig A, Crabb BS, Cowman AF.
   Exported proteins required for virulence and rigidity of Plasmodium falciparum-infected human erythrocytes.
   Cell. 2008 Jul 11;134(1):48-61 PMID: 18614010 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
3. Elliott SR, Beeson JG.
   Estimating the burden of global mortality in children aged <5 years by pathogen-specific causes.
   Clin Infect Dis. 2008 Jun 1;46(11):1794-5 PMID: 18462120 [PubMed - in process]
4. Persson KE, McCallum FJ, Reiling L, Lister NA, Stubbs J, Cowman AF, Marsh K, Beeson JG.
   Variation in use of erythrocyte invasion pathways by Plasmodium falciparum mediates evasion of human inhibitory antibodies.
   J Clin Invest. 2008 Jan;118(1):342-51 PMID: 18064303 [PubMed - in process]
5. Beeson JG, Crabb BS.
   Towards a vaccine against Plasmodium vivax malaria.
   PLoS Med. 2007 Dec;4(12):e350 PMID: 18092888 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
6. Beeson JG, Ndungu F, Persson KE, Chesson JM, Kelly GL, Uyoga S, Hallamore SL, Williams TN, Reeder JC, Brown GV, Marsh K.
   Antibodies among men and children to placental-binding Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes that express var2csa.
   Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2007 Jul;77(1):22-8 PMID: 17620626 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
7. Beeson JG, Andrews KT, Boyle M, Duffy MF, Choong EK, Byrne TJ, Chesson JM, Lawson AM, Chai W.
   Structural basis for binding of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 to chondroitin sulfate and placental tissue and the influence of protein polymorphisms on binding specificity.
   J Biol Chem. 2007 Aug 3;282(31):22426-36 PMID: 17562715 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
8. Maier AG, Rug M, O'Neill MT, Beeson JG, Marti M, Reeder J, Cowman AF.
   Skeleton-binding protein 1 functions at the parasitophorous vacuole membrane to traffic PfEMP1 to the Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocyte surface.
   Blood. 2007 Feb 1;109(3):1289-97 PMID: 17023587 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
9. Beeson JG, Mann EJ, Byrne TJ, Caragounis A, Elliott SR, Brown GV, Rogerson SJ.
   Antigenic differences and conservation among placental Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes and acquisition of variant-specific and cross-reactive antibodies.
   J Infect Dis. 2006 Mar 1;193(5):721-30 PMID: 16453269 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
10. Voss TS, Healer J, Marty AJ, Duffy MF, Thompson JK, Beeson JG, Reeder JC, Crabb BS, Cowman AF.
    A var gene promoter controls allelic exclusion of virulence genes in Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
    Nature. 2006 Feb 23;439(7079):1004-8 PMID: 16382237 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Current Laboratory Members

Faculty Member: James Beeson, BMedSc(Hons) MB MS(Hons) Mon PhD Melb

Senior Postdoctoral Fellow: Damien Drew, BSc Mon BSc(Hons) PhD Melb

Senior Postdoctoral Fellow: Mirja Hommel, PhD Heidelberg

Postdoctoral Fellow: Salenna Elliott, MBBS PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow: Freya Fowkes, BSc(Hons) Glasgow MSc London PhD Oxon

Postdoctoral Fellow: Linda Reiling, PhD Hamburg

Postdoctoral Fellow: Danielle Stanisic, BSc(Hons) PhD Qld

Postgraduate Student: Michelle Boyle, BA BSc(Hons) Melb

Postgraduate Student: Jo-Anne Chan,

Postgraduate Student: Jack Richards, DTM&H Liverpool MB BS Melb MPH Mon

Research Assistant: Nadia Cross, BSc(Hons) Brunel

Research Assistant: Danny Wilson, BSc(Hons) NTU