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immune system

Eunice W Nduati

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Email: 
enduatiatkilifi [dot] kemri-wellcome [dot] org
Group: 
Molecular Parasitology and Immunology

My initial work involved the search for potential inhibitors of the Plasmodium folate pathway and monitoring of drug resistance development to anti-folate anti-malarial drugs.

Phenotype and function of B cells in children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Principal Investigator(s): 
Britta C Urban
Principal Investigator(s): 
Eunice Wambui Nduati

Hardly anything is known about the development of antigen-specific memory B cell responses to pathogens in children who are subject to profound dysregulation of the B-cell compartment due to infection with HIV. Infants and children are still in the process to acquire immunity to a wide variety of common pathogens including Plasmodium falciparum in malaria endemic areas. The proposed study will determine to which degree children infected with HIV maintain specific memory B cells responses to common childhood pathogens and vaccines before and after co-trimoxazole prophylaxis compared to HIV-uninfected children. In addition, we will establish whether co-trimoxazole prophylaxis has a beneficial effect on antigen-specific B-cell memory responses in HIV-infected children.

Phenotype and function of B cells in children infected with P. falciparum malaria

Principal Investigator(s): 
Britta C Urban
Principal Investigator(s): 
Eunice Wambui Nduati

In parallel, we (Dr. Eunice Nduati, Agnes Gwela, Britta Urban) determine the phenotype and function of B cells in response to infected red blood cells using an in vitro activation assay and flow cytometry in healthy children and adults and in children with acute malaria and after convalescence. The aim of this study is to elucidate the defect that underlies the short-lived nature of antibody responses to many parasite antigens in children living in endemic areas. We have shown that memory B cells to the parasite can be detected in children for at least four months after an acute malaria episode indicating that memory B cells are generated and maintained.

Immune deficiency and immune activation arising from undernutrition

Full Title: 
Identifying mechanisms of immune deficiency and immune activation arising from undernutrition, leading to novel interventions.
Principal Investigator(s): 
Jay Berkley

No description available.

Vandana Thathy

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Email: 
vthathyatkilifi [dot] kemri-wellcome [dot] org
Group: 
Molecular Parasitology and Immunology

The deadliest human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, infects red blood cells during part of its lifecycle, producing the symptoms of malaria.

Virulence evolution of pathogens

Over the last 10 years, in collaboration with Prof. Andrew Read and colleagues (www.thereadgroup.net),  a comprehensive body of empirical and theoretical data has been built up to show that human disease interventions such as vaccines can cause pathogens to evolve higher virulence.