Developing targeted sero-diagnostic algorithms through an in-depth understanding of Plasmodium vivax sero-diagnostic signatures across different epidemiological settings and high-risk groups

• PhD

This PhD project will conduct in-depth analyses of anti-vivax antibody response in studies from all vivax endemic setting and use this knowledge to develop computational models to improve the adaptability of sero-diagnostic algorithms for Plasmodium vivax to diverse geographic and epidemiological settings. The student will design and implement models to understand how distributions of population-level characteristics such as transmission intensity, recent history of malaria control and individual-level characteristics such as age, gender etc affect immune response to create unique sero-diagnostic signatures. The models will inform the application of interventions such as P. vivax serological test and treat (PvSeroTaT) in alternative settings.

The aim of the PhD project is to assist in the development and validation of P. vivax sero-diagnostic tests across diverse transmission settings, evaluate pilot and scale-up studies to quantify epidemiological impact, and contribute to frameworks that enable national malaria programs and other parties to integrate PvSeroTaT into elimination strategies. The PhD student will work as part of the Vivax Serology Partnership (VISPA) consortium: Expanding Access to Vivax Serology Diagnostics, which is across multiple institutes within Australia, Europe and throughout vivax endemic areas in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America.

The Mueller Laboratory’s research interest is the interaction between infectious diseases and the human host. The lab has primarily focused on the malaria parasite Plasmodium with the addition of research on COVID-19 in recent years.

Within the malaria program of work the Mueller lab’s vision is to develop novel tools and interventions to aid malaria elimination. A focus of our research is on Plasmodium vivax, the parasite responsible for most malaria cases in Australia’s neighbours in the Asia-Pacific.

Aims of our research are to understand:

• which people in malaria-affected communities are getting infected with Plasmodium parasites?
• which people are at high risk of getting sick with malaria and what factors contribute to this?
• how do hidden P. vivax parasites that cause relapses of disease contribute to the burden of infection, morbidity, and transmission?
• how do we identify people at the highest risk of P. vivax relapse and can we prevent these relapses through appropriate treatment?

We are using this knowledge to monitor the impact of malaria control and to develop new interventions to treat malaria, prevent new infections and identify and target areas of high transmission risk. Our ultimate goal is to contribute to malaria elimination programs.