Kumar to Receive Ranbaxy Award for Malaria Research (web article)

Nirbhay Kumar, PhD, a professor with the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and the Bloomberg School’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, will receive the Ranbaxy Award for his research into novel ways to prevent the transmission of malaria. The award will be presented March 20 at a ceremony in New Delhi, India.

Kumar is developing a vaccine to block the transmission of malaria from person-to-person. Mosquitoes become infected with malaria-causing parasites when they bite a person with malaria. These parasites can be transmitted to another person when the mosquito bites another person. The potential vaccine targets the sexual-stage development of the parasite, which occurs inside the mosquito and is essential for malaria transmission.

The Ranbaxy Awards honor the achievements of Indian scientists working around the world. It was established by the non-profit Ranbaxy Science Foundation.

Kumar will share the award for medical research with B.C. Das, director of the Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology, in Noida, India. Awards will also be given for achievements in basic research, pharmaceutical sciences and tuberculosis and HIV research.