Pulido Valente Science Award for research into immunity against malaria

In December 2014, while a PhD student at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), Bahtiyar Yilmaz published the article “ Gut microbiotic elicits a protective immune response against malaria transmission ” in the prestigious scientific journal Cell , where he describes the ability of a type of bacteria that reside in the intestine to stimulate the immune system against the malaria parasite, through the production of antibodies against a sugar found on the surface of these bacteria. In addition to the paper published in the journal Cell , his work was recently recognized with the 2015 Pfizer Prize in Basic Research.

The protective mechanism now discovered by Bahtiyar Yilmaz could be induced through a vaccine, which prompts the immune system to produce high levels of those antibodies. Tests carried out on mice demonstrated that this could be a way to develop an effective vaccine to combat the spread of malaria and thus save many lives.

The team, led by Miguel Soares, observed the presence of low levels of these antibodies in children under five years old, which increase in adulthood. For scientists, this may be the reason why children living in regions where the disease is endemic are more predisposed to infection.

The Pulido Valente Science Award recognizes the work of a young researcher, under 35 years of age, in the area of Biomedical Sciences. Awarded by the FCT and the Pulido Valente Foundation, this prize is worth 10 thousand euros.

Bahtiyar Yilmaz is a former student of the Gulbenkian Institute of Science's PhD program in Miguel Soares' laboratory . The award-winning study was co-authored by: Sílvia Portugal, Tuan M. Tran, Raffaella Gozzelino, Susana Ramos, Joana Gomes, Ana Regalado, Peter J. Cowan, Anthony J. F. d'Apice, Anita S. Chong, Ogobara K. Doumbo, Boubacar Traore, Peter D. Crompton, Henrique Silveira and Miguel P. Soares.

(Image credits: Catarina Júlio, IGC)