Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Wake Forest University received a $363,750 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), effective July 1, 2026 through March 31, 2031. The award funds research to investigate biological mechanisms underlying severe malarial anemia (SMA), a life-threatening condition affecting malaria patients. Using laboratory-based in vitro models, the research examines how redox biology and oxidative stress contribute to two primary drivers of SMA: the bystander effect (unintended damage to uninfected red blood cells) and dyserythropoiesis (impaired red blood cell production). The project specifically investigates whether L-glutamine, an oral antioxidant recently approved for sickle cell disease treatment, may also mitigate oxidative stress-related mechanisms in severe malarial anemia by promoting redox balance in red blood cells and erythroid precursor cells derived from human primary cell sources.

This research addresses a significant public health need, as malaria caused an estimated 597,000 deaths worldwide in 2023 and has recently resurged in the United States after a 20-year absence of locally transmitted cases. The work is conducted at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and is expected to yield foundational insights into novel therapeutic approaches for a potentially lethal malaria-related complication that currently affects approximately one-quarter of treated patients through post-artemisinin delayed hemolysis.