Biography

Alan Cowman did his PhD in molecular parasitology through the University of Melbourne. He then secured a CJ Martin Fellowship from the NHMRC to pursue postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley. He subsequently returned to WEHI as a senior research officer and became a Wellcome Australian Senior Research Fellow in 1988.

For his work on Plasmodium falciparum, Cowman has received many awards including the 1990 Burnet Prize, the 1992 Glaxo Award, the 1993 Gottschalk Medal for Medical Science and Biology of the Australian Academy of Sciences, the 1994 Boehringer-Mannheim Medal, the 2001 Royal Society of Victoria Research Medal, the Centenary Medal and election to the Australian Academy of Science.

The malaria menace

Malaria has plagued humans since we descended from the trees and remains one of the most severe public health problems worldwide. It kills 1-3 million people worldwide every year, with ~500 million infected and over 3 billion people living in risk areas.

Malaria, literally meaning bad air, occurs mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, encompassing areas of Africa, the Americas and Asia. Sub-Saharan Africa carries the heaviest disease burden, with an estimated 90% of all human deaths due to malaria.

The most vulnerable to malarial infection are those individuals with no or little protective immunity against the disease, especially young children, pregnant women and underexposed adults. In fact, most deaths from malaria globally occur in African children under 5 years old.

Closer to home, malaria is also a serious health problem in Papua New Guinea and nearby regions, and Australian scientists have long been involved in research into malaria and other tropical diseases.

In developing countries, malaria is the third biggest killer behind HIV and TB. Malaria has a profound effect on individuals and societies it affects in terms of productive days lost, due largely to the age of its victims and subsequent projection of their future productivity to the society.

Malaria therefore places a huge economic and social burden on countries where this disease is endemic. It is said to not only be associated with poverty, but to cause poverty and hinder economic development.

Malaria transmission can be reduced in affected areas by preventing mosquito bites using personal control measures such as bednets and repellent or environmental controls including insecticide spraying.

Preventative anti-malarial drugs such as chloroquine are used, although these agents must be taken continuously to reduce the risk of infection and drug resistance is an increasing problem. In addition, such pharmaceutical measures are often too expensive or too impractical for populations in endemic areas to use effectively.