Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute

The work from researchers at the University of Manchester (UK) and the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute director Jane Carlton traced the evolutionary history of A. leucosphyrus by examining the rates at which certain genes mutated. The journal authors found that the mosquitoes were biting humans in parts of what are now India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sumatra and Java almost 2 million years before other mosquito species adapted to feeding on us.

Read the whole study here. tinyurl.com/rkesjzpx

Before mosquitoes fed on humans, they fed on our ancestors. An article published Thursday in the journal Nature Scientific Reports analyzed DNA from 11 species of Anopheles leucosphyrus mosquito to find that, 1.8 million years ago in parts of Southeast Asia, the mosquitoes evolved from feeding on non-human primates to biting Homo erectus, the last common ancestor of Neanderthals, Denisovans and us -- modern humans.

A team of researchers found that #mosquitoes have been feeding on humans far longer than we realized. JHMRI Director Jane Carlton and colleagues published their findings in @nature.com Scientific Reports on Feb 26.

Titans of Science: Jane Carlton From stealing her brother's genetics book to sequencing the Plasmodium genome...

www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/nak...
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The Naked Scientists featured our director Jane Carlton on their "Titans of Science" podcast series this week.🔬🧬
Here, Dr. Carlton discusses the Plasmodium vivax parasite, which can cause #malaria months or even years after a bite from an infected #mosquito. 1/2

“Think critically about your work — and speak with purpose.”

A reminder from #Nobel Laureate Peter Agre that rigor and responsibility start with how we think — and how we communicate.

Minutes after an infected #mosquito bite: watch 2 green #sporozoites in the white circle wiggle their way into blood vessels and zoom off to the liver, where they'll meet up, mature & multiply like crazy, causing a #malaria infection. Thanks to Dr.
@christineshopp.bsky.social for the vid!

The latest episode of the Naked Scientists podcast is all about the most dangerous creature on earth ... the #mosquito. 🦟🩸
@johnshopkinssph.bsky.social mosquito expert Dr. Conor McMeniman explains how the bugs find people to bite. Hear the whole episode wherever you get your favorite podcasts!

JHMRI joins the scientific and malaria research communities in mourning the death of Sir Nicholas White.

“Nick White was a titan in the field of #malaria research,” said JHMRI director Jane Carlton. “His contributions to tropical medicine continue to save lives around the world.”

A study published in @MalariaJournal finds that, while #malaria is in decline in northeast #India state of #Meghalaya, certain areas are still vulnerable.
themeghalayanexpress.com/malaria-on-t...

Tamil Nadu close to eliminating malaria as 33 districts report nil indigenous cases Tamil Nadu close to eliminating malaria as 33 districts report nil indigenous cases

The Hindu's Serena Josephine M reports that south India's huge state of Tamil Nadu is inching closer to eliminating #malaria, as 33 of 38 districts had zero cases last year.

In 2015, Tamil Nadu reported 5,587 cases; in 2025, that number was 121.
www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/hea...

Successful Research Translation Draws on Collaboration and Counsel | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health In order to see his discovery of an insecticide that targets malaria-carrying mosquitoes evolve into a marketable product, researcher George Dimopoulos uses a business mindset to collaborate with lead...

Hopkins researcher George Dimopoulos says his #MBA helped him think differently about his discovery of a bacterium that can kill mosquitoes that carry deadly #malaria parasites.

In a year of steep challenges, there were still shining moments in global health The Trump administration's deep cuts in U.S. foreign health aid had a devastating impact. Yet there were achievements of note in spite of it all.

Jane Carlton, professor at the @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social and director of the school's #Malaria Research Institute, tells @npr.org that, despite a year full of gloomy public health news, 2025 had some bright spots.

Newspaper advertisement from the year 1900. The product promises to "cure malaria in any form or money refunded." It's called Prior's Ague Cure, "ague" being an antiquated term for malaria. "Ask your druggist for it. P.J. Prior, Plainville, CT."

In 1900, a Plainville, Connecticut company offered "Prior's Ague Cure," promising to "cure malaria in any form or money refunded." Ague, (AYG-yoo) is an antiquated synonym for #malaria.

The last recorded outbreak in CT was in 1912. The US eliminated the disease in 1951.

Black background art card with a Johns Hopkins University logo has a quote from Dr. Jane Carlton, director of the JH Malaria Research Institute, that reads: "It's time to eliminate malaria -- and such a goal is in sight."

Following the @who.int World #Malaria Report, Dr. Jane Carlton, director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, spoke with @gohealio.bsky.social. Despite funding shortfalls, increases in infections and deaths, and other alarming trends, Dr. Carlton remains hopeful. tinyurl.com/3rdb5ctz

Statement from @JohnsHopkins #malaria expert William Moss, MD, MPH on @gavi and @UNICEF announcement of making vaccines more affordable. Moss calls it "a major step" in the fight against malaria.

Statement from @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social #malaria expert William Moss, MD, MPH on Gavi Vaccine Alliance and @unicef.org announcement making vaccines more affordable.

Moss calls it "a major step" in the fight against malaria.

In sub-Saharan Africa, mothers often carry their babies on their backs in colorful cotton wraps called lesu 🦟

Could treating these wraps with insecticide help prevent #malaria? 🎙️

publichealth.jhu.edu/malaria-rese...

Dr. Yuemei Dong presented her work at last week's Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. At the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Dr. Dong works on genetically engineered mosquitoes to find ways to stop transmisison of #malaria.

Dr. Shengzhang Dong of the Johns Hopkins #Malaria Research Institute engineers transgenic mosquitoes in the quest to produce mosquitoes that don't transmit disease. He presented his latest research at @astmh.bsky.social.

Dr. Conor McMeniman of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute studies the molecular and celluar basis of mosquitoes' attraction to humans. He discusses his work on "whole-body volitilomics" as it relates to tools to diagnose #malaria faster and more accurately than blood tests.

The team at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute is excited to collaborate with Dr. Dawit Hawaria of Hawassa University in Ethiopia. Dr. Hawaria tells us about malaria conditions in his country ... and what he and his colleagues are doing to combat the increase in cases of #malaria.

It's Day 3 of ASTMH 2025 and the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute is bringing you highlights. Our friend Dr. Himanshu Gupta from GLA University tells us about his exciting research to see if mRNA can be used as a biomarker for severe #malaria. Spoiler alert: it can!

In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, mothers carry their young children on their backs in colorful cotton wraps called lesu. 🦟

Could treating these cloths with insecticide reduce #malaria transmission?

publichealth.jhu.edu/malaria-rese...

Ogechi Nwankwoala studies medicine at Boston University. She earned her undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University in 2023. This year, she co-authored a paper with her Hopkins mentor, Dr. Matthew Ippolito of the Johns Hopkins #Malaria Research Institute. #ASTMH #IAmTropMed

Johns Hopkins' very own Dr. George Dimopoulos explains his work engineering #mosquitoes so that they no longer transmit #malaria -- or that the parasite that causes the disease actually kills the mosquito when it infects. #iamtropmed #astmh

We ran into an old friend in Toronto! Dr. Sungano Mharakurwa, director of the #Malaria Program at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe! Dr. Mharakurwa helped start the Johns Hopkins Malaria Institute nearly 25 years ago. #IAmTropMed

Dr. Melissa Conrad of the Johns Hopkins hashtag#Malaria Research Institute talks about her work tracking a dangerous gene mutation from Southeast Asia to the African continent. Follow all the amazing science with us from the #ASTMH Annual Meeting in Toronto. #Iamtropmed

Dr. Jason Hendry of the Max Planck Institute of Infection Biology in Berlin talked about drug resistance to malaria ... and how to monitor it. #Iamtropmed

Stay with the Johns Hopkins #Malaria Research Institute today and all week for the latest from the @ASTMH Annual Meeting in Toronto! #iamtropmed

Stay with the Johns Hopkins #Malaria Research Institute today and all week for the latest from the @ASTMH Annual Meeting in Toronto! #iamtropmed

Say cheese! Visit our Selfie Station next to registration sponsored by Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute @jhmrimalaria.bsky.social Share your pics using #TropMed25 - you can share them on the app's photo gallery as well!

We're at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's 2025 Annual Meeting in SNOWY Toronto! Stay with us all week for interviews with #malaria experts from the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and from around the world!