More than a million people die of malaria each year — most of them infants, young children, and pregnant women, and most of them in Africa. Although severe malaria has a high mortality rate, some children in areas where the disease is endemic might experience only one or two episodes of severe illness before they become resistant to further bouts of the disease.

Dr. Duffy's team is attempting to identify the antibodies and other immunological responses that protect children from severe illness and death due to the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly of the four parasite species of human malaria.

Dr. Duffy's team is building on previous research that has found different P. falciparum forms cause different malaria disease syndromes. Serologic analyses have found that the different parasites export specific antigens to the surface of infected red blood cells, and in some cases an individual's immune system responds to these antigens to prevent severe illness and death. Results of the team's studies could help advance development of a malaria vaccine and guide clinical trials.