In honor of World Malaria Day, ASTMH asked some of our malaria expert members and colleagues what inspired them to specialize in malaria, what stands out in the fight against malaria and what will be the economic benefit of a malaria-free world. Other interviews in this series include: Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer of the President's Malaria Initiative; Philip Rosenthal, MD, FASTMH, Editor-in-Chief of American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Councilors Nicole Achee, PhD, ASTMH, Laurence Slutsker, MD, MPH, FASTMH, David A. Fidock, PhD, Rick Fairhurst, MD, PhD, FASTMH; Stephanie Yanow, PhD, Assistant Scientific Program Chair; Capt. Judith E. Epstein, MD, of the Naval Medical Research Center; and Col. Robert M. Paris of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
What situation or person inspired you to specialize in malaria?
In 1983, Benjamin Kean's course in parasitology at Cornell University Medical College got me interested in tropical medicine. Dr. Kean helped me finance a trip to Indonesia to work with (ASTMH Past President) Steve Hoffman, MD, DTMH, FASTMH, that summer in Indonesia, where he was a young Navy captain doing clinical trials and epidemiological studies of malaria and typhoid fever. I got completely hooked on malaria in 1986 when Steve sent me to western Kenya to do a study of malaria immunity in adult men. I have been dedicated to malaria ever since. Part of the attraction to malaria was that it was at that time – just before the AIDS pandemic took off – the single biggest global killer, and a fascinating, complex organism. But another major reason I ended up as a malariologist was because I was drawn to and inspired by brilliant and charismatic figures like Ben Kean and Steve Hoffman.
Saving lives is what drives you, but what do you see as the economic benefit to eradicating malaria?
In addition to the direct reductions in lives and productivity lost due to malaria, malaria eradication requires overall strengthening of healthcare systems and surveillance and response systems. This will have huge collateral benefits to the health and economies of malaria-afflicted nations.
In thinking about malaria control and elimination efforts in the last five years, what stands out most for you?
The progress made already has exceeded expectations, but there is still a long road ahead, and we all worry about donor fatigue. But I was heartened at the answer Bill Gates gave when I asked him about this at the 2014 ASTMH annual meeting. He said that the Gates Foundation and others who are supporting malaria eradication all understand very well that this is a decades-long commitment, and that they wouldn't be doing it unless they were in it for the long haul.