# Epidemiology Project

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $372,144

## Abstract

Abstract
The burden of falciparum malaria in sub-Saharan Africa remains unacceptably high despite significant gains in
malaria control over the last 15 years. An improved ability to both predict which combinations of interventions
are most likely to have the greatest benefit and to accurately evaluate their effects would be of enormous
benefit. However, predictions are currently limited by gaps such as poor characterization of relationships
between exposure to sporozoite-infected mosquitoes, rates of establishment of blood stage infection, and the
clinical consequences of infection, including the crucial impact of antimalarial immunity. In this project, we will
take advantage of unique access to linked entomologic, parasitologic, human genomic, and clinical data from
intensive cohorts in different regions of Uganda. Importantly, cohorts will be established in sites where changes
in community interventions are planned. Using cohort data, we will quantify the impact of environmental and
host factors on the establishment and maintenance of infection, and define a serologic profile by which host
immunity, a key host factor, can be measured. Central to these efforts will be our ability to detect, distinguish,
and follow genetically distinct parasites in the blood of individuals over time, allowing us to accurately measure
the force of infection (rate of acquisition of blood stage infections), to follow the trajectory of these infections
within a host, and to relate these metrics to entomologic, epidemiologic, and clinical outcome data. We will
then integrate these individual-level relationships to characterize their epidemiologic consequences and model
the impact of interventions at the population level. This study has 2 aims: 1) To characterize factors
determining the malarial force of infection in intensively studied cohorts at different sites in Uganda.
We will derive estimates of sporozoite exposure in individuals living in malaria endemic areas, genotype
parasites infecting them to derive measures of the force of infection, and evaluate human genetic
polymorphisms in all cohort members using a genome-wide approach. With these data, we will determine the
relationship between sporozoite exposure and the force of infection, a key relationship in predicting the effect
of vector control interventions, and assess the impact of host factors including genetics, age, and recent
changes in exposure on this relationship. 2) To determine factors affecting the duration, density, and
clinical consequences of blood stage malaria infection in Uganda. Using quantitative PCR and parasite
genotyping data, we will determine the impact of host factors such as genetics, age, and prior exposure on
blood stage immunity as well as anemia. We will determine how these relationships vary in different
epidemiologic settings, including before and after changes in communitywide interventions. In addition, we will
define a serologic profile associated with blood stage immunity ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9889882
- **Project number:** 5U19AI089674-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** MOSES Robert KAMYA
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $372,144
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9889882

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9889882, Epidemiology Project (5U19AI089674-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9889882. Licensed CC0.

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