# Design and Evaluation of a Plasmodium vivax ultra-dense peptide array

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2022 · $231,750

## Abstract

The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax threatens half of the world's population. While on-going elimination
efforts are successfully reducing the burden of falciparum malaria worldwide, the situation is much less promising
for P. vivax. This discrepancy is partially due to our poor understanding of the biology of P. vivax that is difficult
to study in the laboratory. Thus, a better understanding of the parasite proteins recognized by our immune system
could guide vaccine development, enable more rigorous assessments of transmission and exposure, and allow
the identification of individuals carrying dormant parasites. Unfortunately, analyses of the seroreactivity of P.
vivax proteins have been limited to, at best, a few hundred proteins, and those typically derive from blood-stage
parasites. We propose here to leverage extensive genomic and transcriptomic data generated by us and others
to generate a comprehensive list of putative protein-coding transcripts expressed throughout the life cycle of the
parasites. We will design and evaluate the seroreactivity of all those proteins using a high-density peptide array
and serum samples that have been extensively characterized. Our studies will provide a comprehensive
perspective on the P. vivax proteins recognized by the host during an infection, and constitute a solid foundation
for identifying vaccine candidates and biomarkers for measuring exposure and transmission, as well as
potentially, markers associated with the presence of dormant parasites in the liver.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10372166
- **Project number:** 5R21AI159307-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** David Serre
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $231,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-03-15 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10372166

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10372166, Design and Evaluation of a Plasmodium vivax ultra-dense peptide array (5R21AI159307-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10372166. Licensed CC0.

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