Burnet Prize awarded for research on malaria parasite ‘motor’
Malaria researcher Dr Jake Baum has won the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute's 2011 Burnet Prize for his work to understand the 'motor' that drives movement of the malaria parasite.Dr Baum's research aims to identify crucial parasite proteins that are involved in infection and transmission of malaria parasites, including the most virulent strain that infects humans, Plasmodium falciparum. Such proteins could serve as important targets for development of new antimalarial drugs.