Malaria: adrenal hormones save lives

Share:

About the research

In 2020, a couple in Kampenhout died of malaria. In Belgium, this is highly exceptional, but worldwide, and especially in Africa, 400,000 malaria deaths, often involving children, occur every year. Leen Vandermosten (KU Leuven - FWO) wants to help reduce malaria deaths. Can injections of glucocorticoids, hormones from the adrenal glands, protect people from a deadly course of malaria infection? That's what Leen wants to figure out!

Health
Leen Vandermosten
FWO - KU Leuven

Living in Niger fostered Leen Vandermosten her fascination for tropical diseases. She believes that there is still a long way to go to improve public health in developing countries. Leen is a postdoctoral researcher at the Rega Institute (KU Leuven) with a passion to unravel the complexity of malaria complications. Her research focuses on the link between immune responses and metabolic disturbances in malaria in a search for new therapies.

Gerelateerde video's