Current research of the treatment of malaria is the topic of the final Science Forum of the semester.
Nathan Schmidt, assistant professor of microbiology, will present “A ‘Sweet’ Approach to Treating Malaria” on Friday, November 22.
The Science Forum is a weekly brown-bag lunch series that allows professors and area scientists to discuss their research with the general public in a conversational presentation.
Schmidt’s presentation begins at noon in Room C-D of Thompson-Boling Arena. Attendees can bring lunch or purchase it at the arena. The presentation will be forty minutes long, followed by a question-and-answer session. It is free and open to the public.
Approximately 50 percent of the world’s population lives in a malaria-endemic region and an estimated one million people die from malaria annually.
“The parasite that causes malaria has proven to be a mighty challenge and is has evaded essentially all experimental vaccines,” Schmidt said. “Anti-malarial drugs have been effective at treating infected individuals, but drug resistance is a common problem and they do not prevent re-infection. Consequently new approaches are desperately needed to treat this disease.”
Schmidt will talk about current research aimed at treating malaria through probiotics and dietary supplementation.
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C O N T A C T :
Amanda Womac (Amanda@HellbenderPress.org)
Mark Littmann (865-974-8156, littmann@utk.edu)
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)