Borko Amulic
University of Bristol
UK
Overview
This conference will take place at EMBL Heidelberg, with the option to attend virtually. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery is required for on-site attendance. Please see EMBL’s COVID-19 terms and conditions.
Conference overview
Malaria remains one of the most significant global public health challenges, with more than 200 million clinical cases worldwide each year. The lack of a vaccine that provides effective long-term protection and the continual emergence of drug-resistant malaria parasites emphasises the need for new control and prevention strategies.
This need for innovation has become even more apparent with the disruption of global malaria control programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and potential reversal of gains made over the last few decades, highlighted through a marked increase in malaria deaths in 2020.
The generation of fundamental knowledge lies at the heart of developing new tools and innovations for malaria intervention. The malaria research community has a long history of being a highly collaborative field, reliant on diverse technologies, sharing of resources and dissemination of biological advances made. Now more than ever it is important that we take advantage of the full diversity of the malaria scientific community to share the advances of cross-disciplinary work that are vital for the translation of new ideas into public health impact.
BioMalPar XVIII will showcase the multidisciplinary nature of malaria research with a programme that welcomes clinical malaria, epidemiological studies, immunology, and evolution and ecology alongside core BioMalPar topics. The programme focuses on early-mid career researchers to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which have been particularly acute for these stages.
Session topics
- Clinical and field studies
- Systems biology, from molecules to cells, physiology and pathobiology
- Evolution and ecology
- Immunology and vaccinology
- Transmission and vector – parasite interactions
- New topics and tools for malaria research and future innovation
What past participants say
‘Just what I needed: great speakers, and I got a lot out of it. If you are passionate about parasite biology this is one event you should not miss. Special thanks to EMBL Advanced Training Centre Corporate Partnership Programme for providing financial assistance to attend the meeting.’
Sunil Narwal CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India
‘Biomalpar 2021 was an excellent platform for a fresh PhD student like me to get exposure to various interesting research topics in malaria. I am very happy and grateful to join and totally pumped with ideas after this year conference. Thank you EMBL for this precious opportunity and see you again next year!’
Tra Nguyen, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Speakers
Keynote speakers
Ian Cheeseman
Texas Biomedical Research Institute
USA
Regina Joice Cordy
Wake Forest University
USA
(Virtual Speaker)
Kirk W Deitsch
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
USA
Ashraful Haque
The University of Melbourne
Australia
(Virtual Speaker)
Richard Idro
Makerere University School of Medicine
Uganda
Nicole Mideo
University of Toronto
Canada
(Virtual Speaker)
Katarzyna Modrzynska
University of Glasgow
UK
Silvia Portugal
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Germany
Ana Rivero
MIVEGEC (CNRS – Université de Montpellier – IRD)
France
Phil Spence
University of Edinburgh
UK
Charles Wondji
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
UK
Scientific organisers
Ron Dzikowski
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Israel
Maria M. Mota
Instituto de Medicina Molecular
Portugal
Christopher Moxon
University of Glasgow
UK
Emeritus steering group members
Conference organiser
Programme
Got something to say? Tweet it! #EMBLMalaria
- Recorded talks will be accessible on demand for 2 weeks after the end of the event.
- All times in the programme below are shown as the time in Europe/Berlin.
Day 1 – Monday 23 May 2022
| Time | Speaker |
|---|---|
| 09:15-10:45 | Registration and refreshments |
| 10:45-11:00 | Opening remarks AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| Scientific session 1 – Systems biology of malaria: molecules, cells, physiology and pathobiology Chairs: Jessica Bryant and Maria Inês Moreira Oliveira Leite Marreiros | |
| 11:00-11:30 | The road to persistence_ how Plasmodium falciparum survives the dry season Silvia Portugal – Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Germany AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 11:30-11:45 | Phase separation of plasmodial centrins shines new light on a universal centrosome protein Yannik Voß – Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 11:45-12:00 | Functional characterization of P. vivax genes preferentially expressed in the human bone marrow and spleen through CRISPR-Cas9 editing Alberto Ayllon-Hermida – ISGlobal – IGTP, Spain AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 12:00-12:15 | Organelle autonomy: protein turnover and biogenesis of the apicoplast in malaria parasites Anat Florentin – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 12:15-12:45 | A role for exogenous amino acids in enhancing red blood cell function in the oxidative environment of acute malaria Regina Joice Cordy – Wake Forest University, USA (Virtual Speaker) AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 12:45-14:15 | Lunch and Meet the speakers with: Silvia Portugal, Yannik Voß, Alberto Ayllon-Hermida, Anat Florentin |
| Scientific session 2 – Evolution and ecology Chairs: Arthur Talman and Juliana Cudini | |
| 14:15-14:45 | Malaria drug resistance and vector transmission Ana Rivero – MIVEGEC (CNRS – Université de Montpellier – IRD), France AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 14:45-15:00 | Host cell preference of asexual and sexual malaria parasites in naturally-infected carriers Christelle Ngou Maffo – Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 15:00-15:15 | Investigating the link between parasite rhythms and virulence in P. chabaudi Aliz Owolabi – The University of Edinburgh, UK AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 15:15-15:45 | The evolutionary ecology of malaria transmission, a parasite’s perspective Nicole Mideo – University of Toronto, Canada (Virtual Speaker) AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 15:45-16:30 | Coffee break and Meet the speakers with: Ana Rivero, Christelle Ngou Maffo , Aliz Owolabi Virtual Meet the speakers with: Regina Joice Cordy and Nicole Mideo Access from the conference platform |
| 16:30-17:00 | Flash talks 1 (3 minutes each) – Virtual Poster #3 – Clemente Arias – Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Spain (Virtual Presenter) – Virtual Poster #5 – Evelien Bunnik – University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, USA (Virtual Presenter) – Virtual Poster #10 – Debashree Goswami – Seattle Children’s Research Institute, USA (Virtual Presenter) – Onsite Poster #35 – Richard Bartfai – Radboud University, The Netherlands – Onsite Poster #85 – Jessica Kimmel – Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany – Onsite Poster #99 – Jean Pierre Musabyimana – RWTH Aachen University, Germany – Onsite Poster #113 – Micha Rosenkranz – Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany – Onsite Poster #115 – Lauriane Sollelis – University of Zurich, Switzerland – Onsite Poster #131 – James Yong – Nanyang Technological University, Singapore ALL PRESENTATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 17:00-19:00 | Poster session 1 Onsite poster presenters, abstracts with odd numbers |
| 19:00-20:30 | Dinner |
| 20:30-22:00 | Social event: Science Pub Quiz |
Day 2 – Tuesday 24 May 2022
| Time | Speaker |
|---|---|
| Scientific session 3 – Immunology and vaccines Chairs: Michaela Petter and Maria Rosaria Bassi | |
| 09:00-09:30 | Neutrophils as protagonists in severe malaria pathogenesis Borko Amulic – University of Bristol, UK AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 09:30-09:45 | Full-length MSP1 “SumayaVac1” vaccine candidate triggers long-lasting and multiple FC-mediated effector functional IgG and IgM antibodies in a phase 1a clinical trial Richard Thomson Luque – Center for Infectious Diseases-Parasitology UKHD, Sumaya-Biotech, Germany AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 09:45-10:00 | Exploring the function and antibody interactions of the malaria parasite merozoite surface protein 2 during red blood cell entry Isabelle Henshall – The University of Adelaide, Australia AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 10:00-10:15 | Plasmodium cross-stage interplay dictates malaria outcome Ângelo Ferreira Chora – Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Portugal AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 10:15-10:45 | Modelling blood-stage malaria infection and immunity using single-cell genomics Ashraful Haque – The University of Melbourne, Australia (Virtual Speaker) AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 10:45-11:30 | Coffee break |
| 11:30-12:15 | Life time achievement award |
| 12:15-13:45 | Lunch and Meet the speakers with: Borko Amulic, Richard Thomson Luque, Isabelle Henshall, Ângelo Ferreira Chora |
| Scientific session 4 – Transmission and vector – parasite interactions Chairs: Michael Delves and Catherine Oke | |
| 13:45-14:15 | Impact of insecticide resistance on malaria control tools and transmission Charles Wondji – Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom; Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), Cameroon AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 14:15-14:30 | Machine learning-based phenotypic imaging to define the targetable biology of Plasmodium falciparum male gametocytes for transmission-blocking antimalarials Michael Delves – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 14:30-15:00 | Transcription factors in Plasmodium – cooperation and versality Katarzyna Modrzynska – University of Glasgow, UK AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 15:00-15:15 | STK35L1 regulates host cell cycle-related genes and is essential for Plasmodium infection during the liver stage of malaria Phulwanti Kumari Sharma – Central University of Rajasthan, India (Virtual Speaker) AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 15:15-15:30 | Reversible host cell surface remodeling limits immune recognition and maximizes transmission of Plasmodium falciparum Priscilla Ngotho – University of Glasgow, UK (Virtual Speaker) AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 15:30-16:15 | Coffee break and Meet the speakers with: Charles Wondji, Michael Delves, Katarzyna Modrzynska |
| 16:15-16:45 | Flash talks 2 (3 minutes each) – Virtual Poster #14 – Jaiganesh J – Institute of bioinformatics and applied biotechnology, India (Virtual Presenter) – Virtual Poster #18 – Robyn McConville – The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Australia (Virtual Presenter) – Onsite Poster #34 – Lea Barfod – University of Copenhagen, Denmark – Onsite Poster #50 – Scott Chisholm – University of Cambridge, UK – Onsite Poster #98 – Maria Inês Moreira Oliveira – Leite Marreiros Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes; ICBAS, Portugal – Onsite Poster #104 – Emma Pietsch – Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany – Onsite Poster #112 – Catarina Rosa – Institut Pasteur, France – Onsite Poster #118– Arthur Talman – Institute of Research for Development, France – Onsite Poster #126 – Maria Watzlowik – University of Regensburg, Germany ALL PRESENTATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 16:45-18:15 | Registration is open. Places are limited. Available for onsite participants. Workshop 1: Malaria single-cell transcriptomics analysis Trainers: – Thomas Otto – University of Glasgow, UK – Franziska Hentzschel – Heidelberg University Medical School, Germany Location: Computer Training Lab Workshop 2: How to use the malaria cell atlas and plasmoSPOT for your projects Trainers: – Elias Farr – Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK – Friedrich Frischknecht – Center for Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany Location: Flex Labs A and B |
| 17:45-19:15 | Poster session 2 Onsite poster presenters, abstracts with even numbers |
| 19:15-20:45 | BBQ dinner with live music from Lazy Fur |
| 20:45-22:00 | After dinner drinks |
Day 3 – Wednesday 25 May 2022
| Time | Speaker |
|---|---|
| 08:00-09:00 | Poster session 3 Virtual poster presenters, all posters |
| Scientific session 5 – Clinical and field studies Chairs: Richard Idro and Lea Barfod | |
| 09:00-09:30 | Acquired mechanisms of disease tolerance underpin immunity to malaria Phil Spence – University of Edinburgh, UK AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 09:30-09:45 | Host immune heterogeneity shapes P. falciparum var gene expression Antoine Claessens – University of Montpellier, France AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 09:45-10:00 | The role of a hematopoietic parasite reservoir in Plasmodium vivax infection and pathology Joao Luiz Silva-Filho – University of Glasgow, UK AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 10:00-10:30 | Chemoprevention of malaria in endemic areas: a strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality Richard Idro – Makerere University School of Medicine, Uganda AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 10:30-11:15 | Coffee break and Meet the speakers with: Phil Spence, Antoine Claessens, Joao Luiz Silva-Filho, Richard Idro |
| 11:15-12:00 | Career development workshop (Available to onsite and virtual participants) Panelists: – Aurelio Bonavia – Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute, USA – Virginia M Howick – University of Glasgow, UK – Christiaan van Ooij – London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK – Buchi Okereafor – Open Biology, UK (Virtual speaker) – Christopher Moxon – University of Glasgow, UK Moderator: Kirk W Deitsch – Weill Medical College of Cornell University, USA |
| 12:00-13:30 | Lunch and Meet the speakers with: Ian Cheeseman, Josie Ferreira, Francis Isidore Totanes, Hannah Fleckenstein, Kirk W Deitsch |
| Scientific session 6 – New topics and tools for malaria research and future innovation Chairs: Virginia Howick and Vera Mitesser | |
| 13:30-14:00 | Mapping the control of gene expression in malaria parasite genetic crosses Ian Cheeseman – Texas Biomedical Research Institute, USA AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 14:00-14:15 | The remarkable plasticity of microtubules throughout the lifecycle of Plasmodium revealed by in situ electron cryo-tomography Josie Ferreira – Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Germany AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 14:15-14:30 | Replication origin mapping in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum Francis Isidore Totanes – University of Cambridge, UK AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 14:30-14:45 | Studying cerebral malaria pathogenesis in 3D brain microvascular models by correlative multimodal volume imaging Hannah Fleckenstein – EMBL Barcelona, Spain AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 14:45-15:15 | Understanding the “nonsense” of var gene transcriptional regulation by P. falciparum Kirk W Deitsch – Weill Medical College of Cornell University, USA AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 15:15-15:30 | Closing remarks and poster prize announcement AVAILABLE ON DEMAND AFTER LIVE STREAM |
| 16:00 | Buses departing |
Practical information
Registration fees and abstract submission
On-site Registration Fees include admission, conference materials, COVID-19 safety measures, meals and coffee breaks. Participants are expected to book and pay their own accommodation and travel expenses.
Virtual Registration Fees include access to all of the talks (livestreamed and on demand) and facility to submit questions.
| On-site Academia | €710 |
| On-site PhD Student | €610 |
| On-site Industry | €910 |
| Virtual Academia | €175 |
| Virtual PhD Student | €125 |
| Virtual Industry | €225 |
NO visa support letters will be issued until payment of the registration fee is confirmed.
Accredited journalists may be eligible to register for a reduced press rate or in some cases for complimentary registration. Registrants may be required to provide accreditation or equivalent proof of press membership after registration. Please contact Diah Yulianti for more information.
Confirmation and payment
Registration will be on a first-come first-served basis. Your place can only be confirmed after payment of the registration fee. If you are added to our waiting list, please consider taking advantage of our offerings to participate virtually.
On-site participants: Types of payments accepted are international bank transfers and credit card payments.
Virtual participants: We are only able to accept card payments. In exceptional cases we can accept bank transfers. Please contact events@embl.de for details.
Abstract submission
Both onsite and virtual participants are eligible to submit an abstract.
After you have logged in and successfully registered, you will receive an email asking you to submit your abstract. Click on the link provided and enter your abstract in the text box provided. Alternatively, you can submit your abstract by clicking on the link on the confirmation page directly after registering. The same login credentials are used for both processes.
Please note:
Title: The title should not exceed 20 words. Only the first word of the title should start with a capital letter and the rest of the title should be in lowercase.
Authors and Affiliations: Please fill in the author’s details as requested in the online form. The compulsory details are: First Name, Last Name, Organisation Name (Affiliation or Company), Country and Email. Mark only one author as the role of First author and please don’t forget to indicate who will be presenting. The order of the authors will be listed as follows: First Author, Co-First Author (alphabetically if multiple), co-author(s) (in the order added by the submitter).
Presentation Types: When submitting your abstract, you can apply for an oral or poster presentation. A selection process will take place with the results announced 2-3 weeks after the abstract submission deadline.
Please check our FAQs pages for further information on how to submit an abstract.
Accommodation and shuttles
Accommodation is not included in the conference registration fee.
As further changes in our events are possible due to COVID-19, you should book flights, trains and hotels with flexible options and favourable cancellation conditions.
The hotels below have rooms on hold for participants until 23 April 2022, in some cases at special rates. Please quote the booking code BMP22-01 and confirm the exact price of the room with the hotel directly.
Conference shuttle buses
Conference shuttle buses are free of charge for participants, and depart from designated bus stops near the hotels to EMBL and back, mornings and evenings.
The bus stops for this conference are:
- StayCity Hotel (close to B&B Hotel and Main Train Station)
- Kurfürsten-Anlage (close to Main Train Station)
- Neckarmünzplatz
- Peterskirche
- Crowne Plaza
- ISG Hotel
View Conference shuttle bus stops and hotels in a larger map. Please note that not every bus stop will be used for every event.
Further details
Address: EMBL, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. For further information on getting to EMBL Heidelberg visit Public Transportation to the Venue. For information about accommodation and local transportation please refer to the FAQ page.
Virtual participation
Guidelines
- Do not broadcast the conference to unregistered participants.
- You are encouraged to tweet and post about the event. Tweet unless the speaker specifically says otherwise, but be mindful of unpublished data.
- Please do not capture, transmit or redistribute data presented at the meeting.
Additional information can be found in our Code of Conduct.
Health and well-being
It is important to stay healthy and move around, especially when you are attending an event virtually. We have put together a few coffee break stretches and yoga videos in the conference platform for you to enjoy during the event.
How to ask questions
Please use the Q&A function in the event platform.
If you have any other questions, you can go to the Help Desk in the event platform. Click on ‘more’ on the top menu and click Help Desk.
Time zone
The programme is planned based on the Europe/Berlin time zone, unless otherwise stated. As many virtual participants are attending from around the world, we do our best to accommodate as many time zones as possible when creating the programme. Please take your time zone into consideration when planning your attendance. Remember to set your time zone in your account.
Virtual event platforms
We are using a virtual event platform for this conference. More information about the platform will be shared ahead of the conference.
Financial assistance
Limited financial assistance is provided by the EMBL Advanced Training Centre Corporate Partnership Programme and EMBO in the form of both registration fee waivers and travel grants. Availability is limited to participants attending on-site events in Heidelberg and will be indicated during the abstract or motivation letter submission process.
Your place in the meeting is only confirmed by paying the registration fee, which is mandatory even when receiving a fee waiver.
Merck registration fee waivers
BioMalPar Merck registration fee waivers enable the attendance of doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows from malaria-endemic countries with the purpose of adding to the diversity of experiences represented by participants at the meeting.
Registration fee Waiver
The fee waiver will cover the registration sum that you have paid to attend the course or conference.
Travel grant
The travel grant will cover the cost of travel (airfare, train, bus, taxi, accommodation, visa, and/or registration fees*) and is provided up to specified caps which are normally as follows:
– up to €400 for participants travelling to an EMBL Course, EMBL Conference or EMBO|EMBL Symposium from within Europe.
– up to €1000 for participants travelling to an EMBL Course, EMBL Conference or EMBO|EMBL Symposium from outside Europe.
– up to €500 for any participant travelling to an EMBO Practical Course or EMBO Workshop.
– up to €1000 for any participant working in Chile, India, Singapore or Taiwan travelling to an EMBO Practical Course or EMBO Workshop.
*Registration fees are only covered for EMBO Practical Courses or EMBO Workshops
The organisers may reduce the grant cap to accommodate more participants. Recipients will be notified of their travel cap amount when they are informed of the outcome of their application. Original receipts must be provided with your signature for all costs incurred within two months of completion of travel. Scanned copies cannot be accepted.
Selection
The scientific organisers will select the recipients of all financial assistance during the motivation letter or abstract selection process. Results will be announced approximately 6-8 weeks before the event start date, however for some events this may be delayed. Selection results do not impact your admission to the meeting. Selection is based on your current work or study location, the reasons for needing financial support and the impact this event will have on your career.
Reimbursement
Costs will be reimbursed after the meeting only once a reimbursement form and original receipts (from travel costs) have been received.
Further details
View our list of external funding opportunities and information on attending a conference as an event reporter.
For further information about financial assistance please refer to the FAQ page.
Additional information
Please find additional information including FAQs, terms and conditions, COVID-19 safety policy and travelling to EMBL on our Information for Participants page.
COVID-19 related questions
COVID-19 information for onsite events at EMBL Heidelberg can be found in our COVID-19 FAQs.
Sponsors
Conference sponsor
Media partners
EMBO Molecular Medicine, an EMBO Press journal
International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Open Biology, a Royal Society journal
Sponsorship opportunities
We offer a variety of event sponsoring possibilities, with the flexibility to select a set sponsorship package or combine individual sponsorship options to suit your event budget. Discounts are available for companies sponsoring multiple events at EMBL Heidelberg. View other conferences, or contact sponsorship@embl.de for further information on sponsoring possibilities.
If you are interested in becoming a media partner of this event, please visit our media partnerships webpage.
Date: 23 - 25 May 2022
Location: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual
Deadline(s):
Abstract submission: Closed
Registration (On-site): Closed
Registration (Virtual): Closed
Organisers:
-
Ron Dzikowski
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel -
Sarah Reece
University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom -
Maria Manuel Dias Mota
Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Portugal -
Christopher Moxon
University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Contact: Diah Yulianti
Download event poster
