This federal Project Grant award, provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (CFDA 93.855 Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research), aims to improve understanding of the chemosensory mechanisms that drive malaria transmission by the African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. The $707,696 award to The Johns Hopkins University will leverage a validated infrastructure and exposure-free assay to identify volatile organic compounds in human scent signatures that are correlated with attractiveness to this disease vector. Complementary metagenomic analysis will characterize the contribution of the human skin microbiome to modulating human scent chemistry and mosquito attractiveness. This research seeks to identify new biomarkers for personal risk of mosquito bites and develop synthetic attractant or repellent formulations to combat malaria transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. The project will also involve subgrants to Duke University to perform shotgun metagenomic sequencing and microbiome analysis, as well as the Macha Research Trust in Zambia to coordinate mosquito semi-field studies.
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