Conference Program
 
Malaria
Parasite Biology And Host-Parasite Interactions
September 6-11, 2009
Magdalen College
Oxford, United Kingdom
Chair:
Chetan E. Chitnis

Vice Chair:
Patrick Duffy

The Malaria Conference is a premier meeting in the field of Malaria Research. The 2009 Malaria Conference will be held at Magdalene College, Oxford from September 6 – 11, 2009. This meeting will focus on basic biology of malaria parasites, their interaction with the host and vector, malaria immunology and molecular basis of pathogenic mechanisms in malaria. The latest results from genetic, biochemical and molecular approaches to understand malaria parasite biology and disease mechanisms in malaria will be presented. The application of such new knowledge to the development of novel intervention strategies including drugs and vaccines against malaria will also be covered.

Invited speakers will present the most recent breakthroughs and will be encouraged to present data that has not yet been published. The format of the meeting will include discussions led by international leaders in the field after each presentation. The meeting will also include poster sessions that will provide an excellent forum for interactions. The conference will make special efforts to encourage participation by researchers from malaria endemic countries. The Malaria Conference provides an excellent opportunity for researchers to gain a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in our understanding of parasite biology & malaria pathogenesis at the molecular level and how this knowledge is being used to develop novel intervention strategies against malaria.

Contributors
SUNDAY
4:00 pm - 8:00 pmArrival and Check-in (Office Closed 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm)
5:30 pmWelcome Reception on the Cloisters Lawn
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:45 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:45 pm - 9:30 pm DRUG TARGETS AND MECHANISMS OF DRUG RESISTANCE
Discussion Leader: Tim Wells (Medicines for Malaria Venture, Geneva)
7:45 pm - 8:10 pmDavid Fidock (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York)
"Recent insights into mechanisms of P. falciparum resistance to anti-malarial drugs"
8:10 pm - 8:20 pm Discussion
8:20 pm - 8:45 pmYongyuth Yuthavong (National Centre for Biotechnology, Bangkok)
"Plasmodium DHFR as a paradigm for target-based drug development"
8:45 pm - 8:55 pm Discussion
8:55 pm - 9:20 pmMargaret Philips (Texas Southwestern, Dallas)
"Targeting malarial dihydroorotate dehydrogenase"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
MONDAY
8:00 am - 9:00 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF HEPATOCYTE INVASION BY MALARIA PARASITES
Discussion Leader: Robert Menard (Institut Pasteur, Paris)
9:00 am - 9:30 amVolker Heussler (Bernard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg)
"Live and let die: Manipulation of host hepatocytes by Plasmodium parasites"
9:30 am - 9:45 am Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 amStefan Kappe (Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle)
"Aspects of hepatocyte infection and intra-hepatocytic development"
10:15 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break / Group Photo
11:00 am - 11:30 am Maria Mota ((Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon)
"The impact of blood stage infection on Plasmodium development inside hepatocytes"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pmRobert Menard (Institut Pasteur, Paris)
"Revisiting the pre-erythrocytic phase of rodent malaria"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm TRANSMISSION OF PARASITES FROM HOST TO VECTOR
Discussion Leader: Robert Sinden (Imperial College, London)
7:30 pm - 7:55 pmElena Levashina (Institute of Molecular Biology, Strasbourg)
"Mosquito immune responses to malaria parasites: complement-like cascade and beyond"
7:55 pm - 8:10 pm Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:35 pmKen Vernick (Institut Pasteur, Paris)
"Genetic and functional dissection of natural mosquito defenses against malaria parasite infection"
8:35 pm - 8:50 pm Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:05 pmOliver Billker (The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge)
"Signal transduction pathways regulating parasite development in the mosquito"
9:05 pm - 9:20 pmRita Tewari (University of Nottingham, Nottingham)
"Signal transduction pathways regulating parasite development in the mosquito"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
TUESDAY
8:00 am - 9:00 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF ERYTHROCYTE INVASION BY MALARIA PARASITES
Discussion Leader: Tony Holder (National Institute of Medical Research, Mill Hill)
9:00 am - 9:30 amMichael Blackman (National Institute of Medical Research, Mill Hill)
"Proteolytic processing of merozoite surface proteins: insights into function and regulation"
9:30 am - 9:45 am Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 amJake Baum (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne)
"Molecular mechanics of the invasion machinery during merozoite entry: old dogmas and new insights"
10:15 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 amPushkar Sharma (National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi)
"Dissection of signaling pathways in blood stages of malaria parasite"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pmDavid Sibley (Washington University, St. Louis)
"Functional analyses of calcium-dependent kinases in Toxoplasma"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm MOLECULAR BASIS OF PATHOGENESIS
Discussion Leader: Patrick Duffy (Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmPierre Buffet (Hôpital Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris)
"New tools to study the retention of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes in the human spleen"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pmTony Holder (National Institute of Malaria Research, Mill Hill)
"Merozoite proteins and malarial anemia"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pmBrendan Crabb (Burnet Institute, Melbourne)
"A translocon of exported proteins in Plasmodium parasites"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pmAli Salanti (University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen)
"Towards a vaccine against placental malaria - Induction of VAR2CSA specific anti-adhesive antibodies"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
WEDNESDAY
8:00 am - 9:00 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm IMMUNITY TO MALARIA
Discussion Leader: Carole Long (National Institutes of Health, USA)
9:00 am - 9:30 amFidel Zavala (John Hopkins University, Baltimore)
"Functional properties of memory CD8+ T cells against malaria liver stages"
9:30 am - 9:45 am Discussion
9:45 am -10:15 amEleanor Riley (London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, London)
"Regulating cellular immunity to malaria"
10:15 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 amDominic Kwiatkowski (Sanger Institute, Cambridge)
"Immunity and genome variation"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pmKevin Marsh (KEMRI - Wellcome Trust Programme, Kilifi)
"Field studies of naturally acquired immunity to malaria: Helpful or confusing?"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting
(Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair)
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm NOVEL APPROACHES TO MALARIA VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
Discussion Leader: Ashley Birkett (PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, Bethesda)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pmJohan Vekemans (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Rixensart)
"RTS,S/AS: Status and plans"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pmAdrian Hill (Jenner Institute, Oxford)
"Towards more effective malaria vaccines"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pmRichard Pleass (University of Nottingham, Nottingham)
"Engineering antibodies for novel vaccination approaches"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pmAshley Birkett (PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, Bethesda)
"The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative: Current portfolio status and future vaccine development strategies"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
THURSDAY
8:00 am - 9:00 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm PLASMODIUM GENOMES AND POST-GENOME BIOLOGY
Discussion Leader: Chris Newbold (Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford)
9:00 am - 9:30 amSarah Volkman (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston)
"Genome-wide analysis of genetic diversity in Plasmodium falciparum"
9:30 am - 9:45 am Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 amJane Carlton (New York University, New York)
"Towards a genetic diversity map of Plasmodium vivax"
10:15 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 amChristian Doerig (Inserm U609, University of Glasgow, Scotland and Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland)
"P. falciparum kinomics"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pmAmit Sharma (International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, New Delhi)
"Structural biology of malaria parasite proteins: Insights and implications"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 5:30 pmPoster Session
5:30 pmReception on the Cloisters Lawn
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION
Discussion Leader: Pradip Rathod (University of Washington, Seattle)
7:30 pm - 7:55 pmArtur Scherf (Institut Pasteur, Paris)
"Genes expressed at the nuclear periphery, what is so special about it?"
7:55 pm - 8:10 pm Discussion
8:10 pm - 8:35 pmKirk Deitsch (Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York)
"Active transcription by RNA polymerase II and the maintenance of epigenetic memory in P. falciparum"
8:35 pm - 8:50 pm Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:15 pmAndy Waters (University of Glasgow, Glasgow)
"Another role for SIR2 in the biology of Plasmodium"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
FRIDAY
8:00 am - 9:00 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture