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Welcome to the Lamb Lab!

We work on malaria, a disease caused by infection with Plasmodium parasites that invade the body’s red blood cells and cause a harmful systemic infection.

We are particularly interested in factors affecting the generation of a robust immune response to kill and remove the infection. We also work on determining the molecular mechanisms mediating vascular activation during malaria. Vascular activation is a key event in organ-specific pathologies associated with Plasmodium-infected red blood cells sequestering on the endothelial cells lining the vasculature of the body.

By understanding the molecules that are required to kill and clear the numbers of Plasmodium infected red blood cells we will be able to design new therapies to enhance these mechanisms of parasite control. By understanding how the vasculature becomes inflamed and disrupted during malaria we will be able to design therapies that block these mechanisms of vascular leakage preventing some of the most severe symptoms of malarial disease. We work on human malaria in collaboration with Dr Lawrence Ayong at the Centre Pasteur Cameroon.

We also use rodent models of malaria to dissect the mechanisms of human malarial disease.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Co-infection of gammaherpes viruses such as Epstein Barr Virus can worsen the symptoms of malaria

EphA2 is a molecule that drives breakdown of the blood brain barrier in cerebral malaria

Malaria-associated liver fibrosis is driven by EphB2

Platelets contribute to organ damage in malaria

Development of the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii as a tool for oral delivery of immunomodulators

WAYS TO GIVE

Make a contribution to science by supporting our work!
You can make a tax-deductible charitable donation to support research into malaria through our direct link to the University of Utah gifting page.
Help us make new discoveries to cure malaria