Project information

Transmission-blocking vaccines aim to prevent malaria transmission from an infected human to a feeding Anopheles mosquito. At present, these vaccines are primarily evaluated in the laboratory, using membrane feeding assays. We are developing mathematical models to translate a lab-evaluated vaccine efficacy into a predicted efficacy in the field. Using this translation, we can then use modelling to predict the public health impact of a transmission-blocking vaccine in different settings in Africa. The work will identify areas where such a vaccine is likely to save the most lives, and how the vaccine could best complement other public health interventions against malaria . Furthermore, the group’s research into the infectious reservoir - e.g. which age groups contribute the most to transmission - will inform our assessment of key age groups to vaccinate. These models shall also be used to help design clinical trials to evaluate the interventions in the field.

Recent publications

J. D. Challenger, D. Olivera Mesa, D. F. Da, R. S. Yerbanga, T. Lefèvre, A. Cohuet and T. S. Churcher: Predicting the public health impact of a malaria transmission-blocking vaccine. Nature Communications (2021)

Sherrard-Smith E, Sala KA, Betancourt M, Upton LM, Angrisano F, Morin MJ, Ghani AC, Churcher TS, Blagborough AM (2018) Synergy in anti-malarial pre-erythrocytic and transmission-blocking antibodies is achieved by reducing parasite density. eLife doi: 10.7554/eLife.35213. PMID: 29914622; PMCID: PMC6008048.

Churcher TS, Bousema T, Walker M, Drakeley C, Schneider P, Ouedraogo AL, Basanez M-Get al., 2013, Predicting mosquito infection from Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte density and estimating the reservoir of infection, ELIFE, Vol: 2, ISSN: 2050-084X Publisher's link.