Epidemiology of Malaria and Helminthiasis Group

The Epidemiology of Malaria and Helminthiasis Research Group is focused on understanding the epidemiological, immunological and clinical basis of interaction between malaria and helminth infection and using the information to control these diseases in endemic regions. We also research to advance Schistosoma diagnosis at a low cost and evaluate the efficacy of antihelminth drugs in treating helminth infection.

We collaborate with our partner, Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, and we're currently conducting two clinical-epidemiological studies. One study evaluates the performance and cost of the pooling strategy for detecting the presence and estimating the prevalence and intensity of S. haematobium infection. This study is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH.

The second research project conducts a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of repeated anthelminthic treatment on the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of malaria, undernutrition, anemia and cognitive performance of children. Further fieldwork involves evaluating the performance of the FlukeFinder in diagnosing S. haematobium infection and assessing the efficacy of praziquantel in treating the infection.