The identification of channel-like transport pathways in the malaria-infected erythrocyte using animal peptide toxins

Malaria is a serious infectious disease caused by a parasite uniquely adapted to live inside the red cells of its human host. The parasite alters its host cell by creating distinctive transport pathways in the cell membrane. Important to parasite survival, the identities of these pathways are unknown. Animal toxins, among other methods, will be used to identify and characterise these pathways. We aim to understand more about their function, and thereby to develop novel treatments