Australian Rotary Health

Queensland Institute of Medical Research
Funding Partner 2006, 2007 and 2008
Rotary Club of Hamilton, Qld
Malaria Vaccine
 

Professor Michael Good is the Director of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, a past President of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes, and a past Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Vaccine Technology. In 2006 he was appointed as Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

In 2008 he was a Steering Committee member and Co-Chair of the “long-term national health strategy” of the 2020 Summit. In 2008 he was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to medical research, particularly in the fields of infectious disease immunology and vaccine technology, through leadership roles at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and contributions to education. He graduated MD PhD DSc from the University of Queensland and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. He undertook postdoctoral training as a Visiting Scientist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. His interests are in the field of immunity and immunopathogenesis to malaria and group A streptococcus/ rheumatic fever, with particular relevance to the development of vaccines.

SUMMARY OF PROJECT:

A vaccine for malaria?

Malaria, one of the world’s major parasitic diseases, kills almost three million people each year. To date, results of vaccine development have been disappointing, partly because vaccines rested target only a few components of the parasite. Vaccines that target many components of the parasite have the potential to be more effective.

Professir Michael Good from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research is taking a new approach to the development of a long-lasting vaccine for malaria using very small doses of complete parasite mixed with a substance known to increase the body’s immune response. Animal studies show this vaccine to be very effective in the long term and a Phase 1 human study is planned.   Australian Rotary Health and the Rotary Club of Hamilton are funding the project.