Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) a $201,744 Project Grant under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031. This K08 Career Development Award funds research to identify key immunological features associated with protection against pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM). The research addresses a critical global health need, as approximately 36 million women annually face risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection, which can cause severe fetal complications including low birth weight, small-for-gestational-age births, and neonatal mortality through placental sequestration of parasites mediated by the VAR2CSA protein.

The grant supports the development of a comprehensive research methodology using phage immunoprecipitation sequencing (PHIP-SEQ) to characterize antibody responses against VAR2CSA variants on a global scale. UCSF researchers will assemble and analyze global VAR2CSA sequences from whole-genome data to design a high-resolution peptide library, enabling detailed profiling of naturally acquired immunity in an existing longitudinal cohort of Ugandan pregnant women. This work aims to advance vaccine development strategies by providing detailed understanding of the full breadth of antibody responses to VAR2CSA diversity, potentially overcoming limitations of current monovalent vaccine approaches to pregnancy-associated malaria prevention.