I feel the urgency with dealing with these [infectious disease] problems because I have experienced them up close. - Faith Osier

Malaria still claims the lives of hundreds of thousands of children each year and has a major economic impact on the lives of many in sub-Saharan Africa. Children that survive severe malaria can be left with permanent physical disability that takes many forms.

The second angle of our research aims to understand how the immune system handles the complexity of the malaria parasite. For example, if it produces antibodies, we need to identify the parasite proteins to which the antibodies are binding and the mechanisms they are using. To do this, we probe the parasite with antibodies from people who have developed resistance to malaria parasite.

It makes me appreciate the community that transformed a little girl growing up in Kenya into an international award-winning scientist.