, PhD, a professor with the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI), was honored as one of Scientific American magazine’s “” for his work toward developing genetically-modified mosquitoes resistant to malaria. The annual award recognizes 50 individuals, teams and organizations whose accomplishments in research, business or policymaking demonstrate outstanding technological leadership.
In March 2007, Jacobs-Lorena and his JHMRI colleagues published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which demonstrated that modified mosquitoes, resistant to malaria, could . These genetically engineered (transgenic) mosquitoes lived longer and produced more eggs compared to wild-type mosquitoes when fed malaria-infected blood. Theoretically, mosquitoes resistant to malaria could be introduced into nature to replace malaria-carrying mosquitoes as one piece of a broader strategy to control the spread of malaria.
The complete list of winners appears in the January 2008 issue of .--Tim Parsons
Public Affairs media contacts for the Johns ѻý: Tim Parsons at 410-955-6878 or paffairs@jhsph.edu.