Navy Researchers Participate in the World Malaria Day Event on Capitol Hill

SILVER SPRING, Md. (NNS) -- To commemorate World Malaria Day, April 25, the Senate Caucus on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases hosted a luncheon and panel discussion on Capitol Hill for representatives from U.S. industry and academia, government agencies and impacted countries to highlight the importance of U.S. partnerships in the global fight against malaria.

The theme for the 2013 World Malaria Day is "Invest in the Future: Defeat Malaria."

It is a day to celebrate hard earned successes and raise awareness of the investments still needed to fight this life-threatening disease that puts more than half of the world's population at risk.

"This was a great opportunity for Navy Medicine to highlight the work we are doing in advancing a malaria vaccine to protect the deployed warfighter and to also support global public health initiatives," said Dr. Kevin Porter, the director of infectious diseases research at the Naval Medical Research Center. "I am grateful to Dr. Karen A. Goraleski, executive director, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, who moderated the panel discussion for acknowledging the important role the Department of Defense (DoD) has played and continues to play in this global fight against malaria from the drugs and vaccine development perspective."

Panel member, Dr. Sarah Volkman, principle research scientist, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, echoed Goraleski's comments in praising DoD research, and she added," We can now imagine a world without malaria."
The panelists discussed several exciting new research initiatives ranging from innovative drug combinations to new diagnostic tools that could help clinicians detect and track drug resistance in malaria patients.
Cmdr. Cindy Tamminga and Cmdr. David Fryauff, malaria researchers from the Malaria Program at the Naval Medical Research Center, were also available during the event to provide information on Navy Medicine's research efforts and answer attendees' questions on current research efforts.

The primary objective of the Navy Malaria Program is to develop a vaccine that kills the malaria parasite during its first few days of development in the liver, before it breaks out into the blood. The program is also investigating vaccines that would target blood stage infection to limit the severity of symptoms associate with this stage. A highly effective vaccine against this deadly parasitic infection would safeguard the warfighter, preserve mission integrity, and immensely benefit public health throughout malaria-endemic areas of the world.

Over the past 30 years, Navy Medicine researchers have worked in collaboration with national and international partners to develop a malaria vaccine and they are working jointly with the Army in the U.S. Military Malaria Vaccine Program (USMMVP).

Other highlights during the event included remarks by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen John Boozman, (R-AR) and Rep. Gegory Meeks (D-NY) showing bipartisan support for global efforts to combat malaria.

NMRC, consisting of a network of laboratories throughout the United States and around the world, is committed to creating value for Sea Enterprise and the Navy and Marine Corps team, by improving readiness and enhancing future capabilities in the areas of infectious diseases, biological defense, military operational medicine, combat casualty care, and radiation research, all in support of Navy, Marine Corps, and joint U.S. warfighters.

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