Meet The Microbiologist - The Scientists Behind The Microbiology

To eliminate malaria, you have to stop transmission, and that’s what Carolina Barillas-Mury hopes to do. Her work on the interaction of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum may lead to a transmission-blocking vaccine. She explains how, and discusses the co-evolution of malaria, mosquitos, and man.   Take the listener survey: asm.org/mtmpoll   Julie’s Biggest Takeaways: When born, babies carry antibodies from their mothers, which may protect them through passive immunity; additionally, babies are more easily protected from mosquito exposure by placing them under bed netting. As they grow, children become more active, and their passive immunity concurrently wanes. They may be exposed to mosquitoes carrying malaria parasites and their still-developing immune systems aren’t able to keep the parasites from replicating, leading to more severe disease, including cerebral malaria.   The Culicines and Anopholines are two major groups of mosquitoes that carry disease. The culicines have recently spread around the