RESEARCH

According to the most recent World Malaria Report, 241 million malaria cases and 627,000 malaria-associated deaths were recorded in 2020. Ninety six percent of global malaria cases and deaths are borne by African countries (WHO 2020). In 2020, of the 33.8 million pregnancies recorded in malaria endemic regions of Africa, 11.6 million were infected with malaria (malaria in pregnancy), which resulted in 819,000 children with low birthweight (WHO 2020). In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), malaria in pregnancy is associated with significant rates of stillbirth, and maternal and infant mortality. Malaria infection during pregnancy may result in Plasmodium falciparum sequestration in the placenta, resulting in placental malaria. Placental malaria has wide ranging complications for mother and child, including severer maternal anemia, higher maternal parasite load, severe maternal hypoglycemia, maternal pulmonary complications, Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR), low birth weight, premature birth, stillbirth, and perinatal death. The adverse effects of placental malaria are known to persist long after parasite clearance. Moreover, because placental malaria may occur even when malaria infection is asymptomatic, and because most women in malaria endemic regions possess partial immunity to malaria, it is hard to detect. Currently, there are no effective tools for detecting parasite sequestration in the placenta and placental malaria can only be confirmed through placental histology after birth. Thus, in most cases, placental malaria continues to silently injure the fetus. A key area of research interest in our group is to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying placental malaria pathogenesis, with the overarching aim of identifying effective tools for placental malaria diagnosis, as well as effective interventions for improving placental malaria outcomes.