Epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax in Ethiopia in varying Duffy Phenotypes

项目摘要 这是劳伦布拉德利的F31奖学金申请表，她是一名博士生实习生，由 博士加州尔湾大学公共卫生学教授严桂云博士和联合赞助人。 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 奖学金的目的是为布拉德利小姐进行疟疾流行病学博士论文研究寻求支持， 培养她的科学技能，成为全球健康领域的独立研究人员。具体 目的包括：1）设计流行病学研究和进行分子群体遗传学分析 验证与农村地区Duffy阴性人群间日疟原虫感染相关的假设 2）发展流行病学和生物信息学能力，以分析大量基因组数据; 获得发展全球卫生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。间日疟原虫疟疾是地理上分布最广的人类 疟疾，造成巨大的人类痛苦和经济生产力下降。非洲人或 具有非洲血统的人被认为可以免受间日疟原虫感染，因为他们缺乏达菲， 红细胞表面的抗原表达使间日疟原虫不能侵入红细胞， 红细胞有趣的是，最近的研究报告了达菲阴性非洲人的间日疟原虫感染。因此 本F31应用的科学目标将集中在P的分子流行病学和群体遗传学。 非洲的间日疟在目标1中，布拉德利小姐将使用横截面调查，纵向队列研究， 被动病例监测，以检查疟疾暴露、Duffy基因型和疟疾之间的关系 间日疟流行的埃塞俄比亚。在目标2中，她将进行群体遗传学和生物信息学分析， p. Duffy阴性和Duffy阳性个体间日疟原虫微卫星基因分型和扩增 下一代测序这项研究将大大提高对机制的理解， 间日疟在非洲蔓延和传播，并为监测变化提供重要的基线数据 随着时间的推移，控制措施或环境因素导致的间日疟流行率和发病率 埃塞俄比亚未被充分研究的非洲地区的变化。通过此次调研和培训， 布拉德利将获得流行病学，群体遗传学和生物信息学的技能，并发展专业和 必要的领导技能，为她在全球卫生和传染病研究的职业生涯做好准备。这 该项目利用了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.