Since the establishment of the Baum lab at UNSW in 2022, the group has been passionately committed to translational research to accelerate the reduction in the global disease burden caused by Malaria. Novel approaches to vaccine development are the central pillar to meeting these important objectives. The team, backed up by world class research infrastructure has the capability to identify novel vaccine and drug targets at crucial lifecycle bottlenecks where the parasite is most vulnerable. A disease transmission model employing the Anopheles mosquito carrying infectious plasmodium parasites, allows us to validate the efficacy of these exciting vaccine and drug candidates. Funding by the Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the NH&MRC enables us to walk the walk of developing a game changing malaria vaccine.
Current projects
- A pathway to GMP ready, live-attenuated whole parasite vaccines : Bill and Melinda Gate foundation
- A pathway to a live attenuated whole parasite malaria vaccine : Wellcome Trust (UK)
- Next generation Malaria vaccines targeting the parasite cell surface : NH&MRC (Australia)
- Structure and function of the Plasmodium myosin XIV Actin glideosome : National Institutes of Health (USA)
Highlighted publications
- Yahiya, S., S. Jordan, H. X. Smith, D. C. A. Gaboriau, M. T. Famodimu, F. A. Dahalan, A. Churchyard, G. W. Ashdown & J. BAUM. 2022. Live-cell fluorescence imaging of microgametogenesis in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. PLoS Pathogens. 18:e1010276. https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1010276
- Real, E.*, V. Howick*, F. A. Dahalan*, K. Witmer, J. Cudini, C. Adradi-Brown, J. Blight, M. Davidson, S. K. Dogga, A. J. Reid, J. BAUM* & M. Lawniczak*. 2021. A single-cell atlas of Plasmodium falciparum transmission through the mosquito. Nature Communications. 12:3196. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23434-z.
- Wong, W.*, X Bai*, A. Brown*, I. Fernandez, E. Hanssen, M. Condron, Y. Tan, J. BAUM* & S. Scheres*. 2014. Cryo-EM structure of the Plasmodium falciparum 80S ribosome bound to the anti-protozoan drug emetine. eLife. 3: e03080. http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03080
- Riglar, D. T*., D. Richard*, D. W. Wilson, M. J. Boyle, C. Dekiwadia, L. Turnbull, F. Angrisano, D. S. Marapana, K. L. Rogers, C. B. Whitchurch, J. Beeson, A. F. Cowman, S. A. Ralph and J. BAUM. 2011. Super-Resolution Dissection of Coordinated Events during Malaria Parasite Invasion of the Human Erythrocyte. Cell Host and Microbe. 9: 9-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2010.12.003.
- BAUM, J., L. Chen, J. Healer, S. Lopaticki, M. Boyle, T. Triglia, F. Ehlgen, S. A. Ralph, J. G. Beeson and A. F. Cowman. Reticulocyte-binding protein homologue 5 – an essential adhesin involved in invasion of human erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum. International Journal of Parasitology. 39: 371-380. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2008.10.006.
Our experts
Professor Jake Baum - Group Leader
Professor Baum is an expert in cell biology and infectious disease, having spent more than 20 years working on the parasite that causes malaria. He has pioneered fundamental discovery research through to applied research on the malaria parasite, with major career contributions to drug discovery, diagnostics and vaccines.
His core areas of expertise include:
- The rational design and testing of malaria vaccines
- Imaging-based high throughput drug discovery screens
- Development of point-of-care infection diagnostics
- Interdisciplinary research at the interface between fields including cell biology with physics, chemistry, structural biology or mathematics (including machine learning)
- Industry-academic partnerships
- Evolutionary biology and host-pathogen coevolution
Team members
- Dr Claire Sayers
- Dr Behdad Delavari
- Dr Kurt Ward
- Dr Michael Johnson
Associated academics
PhD students
- Jem Murdoch
- Grace Peters
- Emmanuel Gyamfi
- Anne Nguyen
Research Theme
Microbiome, Infection, Immunity and Inflammation |