# Dissecting compromised efficacy of liver-stage malaria immunizations in hosts with a history of blood-stage malaria

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2022 · $26,156

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Highly effective vaccines are needed to help control the global disease burden of malaria. Candidate vaccines
targeting the liver-stage of malaria have shown promising efficacy when trialed in malaria-naïve humans, but
performed disappointingly when tested in the target population for malaria vaccines: individuals living malaria-
endemic regions. Blood-stage malaria produces diverse immunosuppressive effects, some of which outlast the
clearance of infection. This proposal uses a murine model to explore the hypothesis that blood-stage malaria
infections produce lasting alterations in the host immune environment that prevent future immunizations from
generating optimally protective responses. In a novel murine infection-immunization-rechallenge model
developed to address this topic, immunization with radiation-attenuated malaria sporozoites produced inferior
protection in mice with a history of blood-stage malaria, compared to blood-stage-naïve comparators. The
proposed work uses a series of experimentally tractable mouse models to dissect the mechanistic basis of
compromised immunization efficacy in hosts with a history of blood-stage malaria. Aim 1 will test whether a
parasite-produced hemoglobin derivative is a key driver of the impaired immunization responses observed
after resolution of blood-stage malaria. Aim 2 will determine whether ineffective CD8 T-cell priming due to
reductions in antigen presentation explains the poor responses of mice with a history of blood stage malaria to
immunization.
This project is designed to simultaneously advance knowledge of malaria immunity and prepare the
investigator for further independent research in malaria pathogenesis and immunity by incorporating diverse
approaches in immunology and rodent models of malaria.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10533975
- **Project number:** 1F32AI167088-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Lisa L Drewry
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $26,156
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-28 → 2022-12-02

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10533975

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10533975, Dissecting compromised efficacy of liver-stage malaria immunizations in hosts with a history of blood-stage malaria (1F32AI167088-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10533975. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*