Presents issues related to malaria as a major public health problem. Emphasizes the biology of malaria parasites and factors affecting their transmission to humans by anopheline vectors. Topics include host-parasite-vector relationships; diagnostics; parasite biology; vector biology; epidemiology; host immunity; risk factors associated with infection, human behavior, chemotherapy, and drug resistances; anti-vector measures; vaccine development; and management and policy issues.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: 

• Discuss the complex relationships between host and vector that affect transmission and control
• Integrate the host and parasite relationships to understand the immune response, nature of disease, and disease manifestations
• Interpret epidemiological indices associated with patterns of malaria transmission
• Evaluate different approaches to malaria control through vector control, chemotherapy, and vaccines when they become available 
• Describe the differences between the various species of Plasmodium affecting humans

• Malariology Overview
• Malaria Epidemiology
• Cell Biology
• Malaria Diagnosis
• Clinical Malaria
• Immunity to Malaria
• Vaccines
• Malaria Chemotherapy
• Malaria Drug Resistance
• Malaria Entomology
• Insecticide Resistance and Assessment
• Malaria Control
• Behavior Change Interventions
• Understanding the Challenge of Malaria: An Historical Perspective  

The content of this course is divided into eight weekly modules. The first module will be available on the first day of class, and subsequent modules will open as noted on the Course Content page. In each of the modules you'll find lectures, and in some there will also be exercises and scheduled LiveTalks. The midterm exam is scheduled during week 5, and the final exam during week 8.

The lecture sections are presented sequentially and should be completed in that order. Each of these lectures combines audio presentation and slides. You may return to any previous lecture at any point in time and review its contents at your convenience. In each lecture you will find objectives, links to the lecture materials, and other supplementary resources, if any.    

There is no required textbook for this course.

Required Reading Materials

All required reading materials for this course are accessible through the Welch Library's E-Reserves.  If you are prompted for a password at eReserves, enter 260656sph.

Suggested Reading Material

• Wahlgren, M., and Perlmann, P. (Eds.). (1999). Malaria: Molecular and clinical aspects. Harwood Academic Publishers.
• Sullivan, D., and Krishna, S. (Eds). (2005). Malaria: Drugs, disease and post-genomic biology. Springer-Verlag.
• Warrell, D., and Gilles, H. (Eds). (2002). Essential malariology. Oxford University Press.

Midterm exam: 40%
Final exam: 50%
Exercises and participation: 10%

Copying and pasting from the Web to answer test questions is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism is a violation of the academic ethics code and can result in a  “0” for the exam and/or grade of “F” in the course. 

Regrading of examinations: Errors are occasionally made in the marking of examinations. To permit correction of errors, the course faculty will re-examine answers that students feel were incorrectly graded under the following conditions:

• Examinations must be submitted for regrading within the first week after the marked exams are returned to the students
• Requests for regrades must be accompanied by a written note calling attention to the specific error involved
• Resubmitted examinations must not be altered or marked in any way. Photocopies of some examinations will be made before graded papers are returned to students and will be compared to re-submitted examinations.
• Each submitted exam will be re-examined in its entirety. Grades might in principle rise or fall depending on answers to all questions, including those not directly involved in the error.
• Simple mathematical errors will be corrected without re-evaluation of the whole examination
• Please note that regrading is intended to correct errors in grading. Arguments concerning judgmental issues on the part of graders (such as the extent of partial credit to be awarded for an incomplete answer) will not be considered.

Primary Faculty David Sullivan, MD Assistant Professor dsulliva@jhsph.edu Nirbay Kumar, PhD Professor nkumar@jhsph.edu Clive Shiff, PhD Associate Professor cshiff@jhsph.edu Course Faculty Peter Winch, MD, MPH pwinch@jhsph.edu Fidel Zavala, MD fzavala@jhsph.edu Douglas Norris, PhD dnorris@jhsph.edu Randall Packard, PhD rpackar2@mail.jhmi.edu  Teaching Assistant Adam Stroupe astroupe@jhsph.edu