Date: 13 December 2024
Time: 11:00-13:00
Location: ZOOM & Sala Fraga de Azevedo | IHMT-NOVA
Plasmodium falciparum Artemisinin resistance in Africa – the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning for ACT?
For nearly two decades, artemisinin has been the cornerstone of Plasmodium falciparum malaria management globally. Despite the drug’s short half-life and rapid action initially making resistance seem unlikely, such resistance has emerged, though through a seemingly different mechanism.
Beginning in Southeast Asia, partial artemisinin resistance, as identified by the WHO, has also surfaced in Africa and continues to spread. The parasite strategy, based on a ring stage transient response aiming on decreasing the short-term artemisinin effects, represents a new concept in malaria probably applicable to new similarly acting drugs.
Join us for an insightful overview of the origins, development, and future outlook of artemisinin use in malaria treatment.
About José Pedro Gil
José Pedro Gil is an Associate Professor (Docent) in Molecular Pharmacology at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. He earned his MSc from the University of Aberdeen, UK, in 1993, and his PhD from NOVA University in 2000. His research interests include drug resistance, particularly in the Plasmodium falciparum model, as well as pharmacogenetics and personalized medicine.
This session is hosted by Professor Jaime Nina and the Research Group IHC – Individual Health Care.
If you are not a GHTM member and would like to join the session, please contact us at ghtm-info@ihmt.unl.pt.