K.R.E.D. Lecture: 'The application of nanoscience to malaria vaccine design'

Join us for the Kavli Oxford 5th Birthday Symposium

Keynote Lecture

 

Matt Higgins KRED post

 

 

DATE: Wednesday, 15 April 2026

TIME: 16:00 – 17:00, followed by a drinks reception

VENUE: Seminar Room 2, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, Sherrington Road, Oxford

 

This event is for University members only and entry into the event is strictly on presentation of a University card. Seating is limited.

 

Speaker:

Professor Matt Higgins

EP Abraham Chair of Structural Biology

Department of Biochemistry & Kavli Oxford

 

Title:

'The application of nanoscience to malaria vaccine design'

 

Abstract:

The first ever malaria vaccines are now being deployed, but they are imperfect, with complex dosing regimens and waning efficacy. These vaccines target the malaria-causing parasite before it reaches our liver. We therefore ask whether we can design a malaria vaccine which stops the parasite from invading our blood cells, with the aim of combining this with the current vaccines to simultaneously target multiple stages of the parasite. This talk will focus on our molecular understanding of the machines which drive erythrocyte invasion. It will reveal how antibodies block the function of these machines. Finally it will show how artificial intelligence-based protein design can use this insight to create optimised vaccine components, leveraging nanoscience to make blood-stage malaria vaccines as good as they can be.

 

The Higgins lab:

We are fascinated by the ways in which parasites interact with their human hosts. We study the molecular machines which are used by malaria parasites to drive their way into our red blood cells. We reveal how parasites suppress different branches of the human immune system to allow them to survive under immune onslaught. We understand how antibodies block essential processes underpinning parasitism. Finally, we use this insight, together with artificial intelligence-based protein design, to generate improved vaccine immunogens.

 

Kavli Research & Enterprise Discussions (K.R.E.D) exemplify our commitment to fostering interdisciplinary knowledge exchange and promoting cutting-edge research.