An internationally acclaimed expert in malaria research, Prof. Cowman heads a laboratory at WEHI where he and his team aim to advance the understanding of how malaria-causing parasites invade human cells.

September 28, 2023
Rima Mycynek

The Levy CIMAR kicked off its 2023-2024 seminar season today with a talk from world-renowned Professor Alan F. Cowman, who among his many roles is acting Director of Australia’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI). An internationally acclaimed expert in malaria research, Prof. Cowman heads a laboratory at WEHI where he and his team aim to advance the understanding of how malaria-causing parasites invade human cells. The seminar, “Discovery and Development of Novel Antimalarials and Their Use as Chemical Tools to Discover New Biology of the Malaria Parasite,” was jointly sponsored by the Levy CIMAR, the TUSM Global Health Faculty Council, and the Tufts Center for Global Public Health.

Prof. Cowman and his lab study Plasmodium falciparum and other Plasmodium spp. to determine how they infect humans and cause disease. The team collaborate with the Merck pharmaceutical company to develop novel antimalarials, and this academic/industrial collaboration has resulted in development of a clinical candidate that is now in first-in-human clinical trials.

Watch the full talk below, or learn more about Dr. Cowman and the Cowman Lab here.

Video: Discovery and Development of Novel Antimalarials and Their Use as Chemical Tools to Discover New Biology of the Malaria Parasite – WEHI’s Professor Alan F. Cowman