Dr. Audrey John at BBCon 2024
Breath-based Diagnosis of Pediatric Malaria
00:00 Introduction
00:31 Presentation ‘Breath Based Diagnosis of Pediatric Malaria’
19:20 Question and answer session
Talk Abstract:
Despite substantial worldwide investment in malaria control, Plasmodium falciparum infection still remains a serious global health problem. The most widely available and sensitive RDTs rely on detection of a P. falciparum-specific protein, HRP2. Unfortunately, HRP2-based RDTs possess critical weaknesses. In clinical settings, there is a pressing need for new highly sensitive and specific tests that are simple, affordable. In previous work, we used state-of-the-art mass spectrometry techniques to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by cultured P. falciparum. More recently, we have found that uncomplicated falciparum malaria leads to characteristic changes in breath VOC composition. Using just six breath biomarkers, we diagnosed falciparum malaria noninvasively in children from Lilongwe, Malawi. Ongoing studies have evaluated the reproducibility of these findings in an independent cohort of children in a malaria endemic area of Blantyre, Malawi. In addition, we evaluate breath composition before and after antimalarial use, thus identifying biomarkers that change in response to treatment. Our data provides robust evidence that infections, such as malaria, lead to specific, reproducible changes in breath VOCs, and support ongoing development of a “malaria breathalyzer”.
Speaker Biography:
A physician-scientist, Dr. John’s NIH-funded research focuses on the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite, with a particular interest in understanding its basic molecular and cellular biology and functions of its specific metabolic pathways — what the parasite needs to make and why it needs to make it — to identify new antimalarial drug targets and develop new diagnostics. Dr. John is an investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases of the Burroughs Welcome Fund. She has received numerous accolades, including awards from the American Chemical Society, March of Dimes, and, most recently the IDea Incubator Grand Prize from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
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