Epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax in Ethiopia in varying Duffy Phenotypes

项目摘要 这是Lauren Bradley的F31奖学金申请表，Lauren Bradley是由 严桂云博士，加州大学欧文分校公共卫生教授，博士的联合发起人。 凯斯西储大学全球健康教授克里斯托弗·金说。这个项目的总体目标是 奖学金是为布拉德利小姐在疟疾流行病学方面进行博士论文研究寻求支持，以及 培养她的科学技能，成为全球卫生领域的独立研究员。具体的 目标包括：1)设计流行病学研究和进行分子群体遗传分析 在农村达菲阴性人群中检验与间日疟感染相关的假说 非洲；2)培养流行病学和生物信息学能力，以分析大量基因组数据；3) 获得在全球卫生领域发展事业所需的领导力和专业技能，并领导多样化和 跨学科研究团队。间日疟原虫是地理分布最广的人类 疟疾，并造成巨大的人类痛苦和经济生产力的降低。非洲人或 非洲血统的人被认为可以免受间日疟原虫感染，因为他们没有达菲 红细胞表面的抗原表达使间日疟原虫不能入侵 红血球。有趣的是，最近的研究报告了达菲阴性的非洲人中存在间日疟原虫感染。因此， 本次F31应用的科学目标将集中在P。 非洲的间日疟。在目标1中，布拉德利小姐将使用横断面调查、纵向队列研究和 被动病例监测研究疟疾暴露、Duffy基因和疟疾之间的关系 间日疟原虫流行的埃塞俄比亚的负担。在目标2中，她将进行种群遗传和生物信息学分析 达菲阴性和达菲阳性人群间日疟原虫的微卫星基因分型和扩增 下一代测序。这项研究将极大地提高对心力衰竭发病机制的理解。 间日疟在非洲的传播和传播，并为监测变化提供重要的基线数据 随着时间的推移，由控制措施或环境因素引起的间日疟流行率和发病率 埃塞俄比亚未得到充分研究的非洲地区的变化。通过这项拟议的研究和培训，小姐 布拉德利将获得流行病学、人口遗传学和生物信息学方面的技能，并开发专业和 具备必要的领导能力，为从事全球卫生和传染病研究工作做好准备。这 该项目利用NIH建立的疟疾监测系统、基础设施和数据管理 支持疟疾中心赠款，以确保拟议的研究和培训计划的成功。

Project Summary This is an application for a F31 Fellowship for Lauren Bradley, a PhD student trainee under the sponsorship of Dr. Guiyun Yan, Professor of Public Health at the University of California Irvine, and co-sponsorship of Dr. Christopher King, Professor of Global Health at Case Western Reserve University. The overall goal of this fellowship is to seek support for Miss Bradley to conduct PhD thesis research in malaria epidemiology, and cultivate her scientific skills to become an independent researcher in the field of global health. The specific objectives include: 1) Designing epidemiological studies and conducting molecular population genetic analysis to test hypotheses related to Plasmodium vivax malaria infections in Duffy-negative human residents in rural Africa; 2) Develop competency in epidemiology and bioinformatics to analyze large sets of genomic data; 3) Gain leadership and professional skills necessary to develop a career in global health and lead diverse and interdisciplinary research teams. Plasmodium vivax malaria is the most geographically widespread human malaria, and is responsible for tremendous human suffering and reduction in economic productivity. Africans or people with African ancestry are thought to be protected from P. vivax infection because their lack of Duffy antigen expression on the surface of the erythrocytes renders P. vivax parasites unable to invade the erythrocytes. Interestingly, recent studies reported P. vivax infections in Duffy-negative Africans. Therefore, the scientific objective of this F31 application will focus on molecular epidemiology and population genetics of P. vivax malaria in Africa. In Aim 1, Miss Bradley will use cross-sectional surveys, a longitudinal cohort study, and passive case surveillance to examine the relationship between malaria exposure, Duffy genotypes and malaria burden in vivax endemic Ethiopia. In Aim 2, she will conduct population genetic and bioinformatic analyses of P. vivax from Duffy-negative and Duffy-positive individuals through microsatellite genotyping and amplicon next-generation sequencing. This research will significantly improve the understanding of the mechanisms for the spread and transmission of vivax malaria in Africa, and provide important baseline data to monitor changes over time in vivax malaria prevalence and incidence that result from control measures or environmental changes in understudied African regions of Ethiopia. Through this proposed research and training, Miss Bradley will gain skills in epidemiology, population genetics and bioinformatics, and develop professional and leadership skills necessary to prepare her for a career in global health and infectious disease research. This project is leveraged on the malaria surveillance system, infrastructure, data management established by a NIH supported malaria center grant, to ensure the success of the proposed research and training plan.