Tulane-Xavier MHIRT Program

Site 4 - Bamako, Mali

The Mali site is primarily based from the Missira Field Site, which is located approximately 160 kilometers northwest of Bamako.

U.S. Mentor
Donald Krogstad, MD, is the director of the Tulane University Center for Infectious Diseases and a world-renowned investigator in the area of parasitic diseases, especially malaria. His prior overseas experiences include fellowships and consultancies in Haiti, Malawi, Egypt, Nigeria, Mali, Colombia and Vietnam. He has collaborated with Malian scientists on numerous projects related to epidemiology, pathogenesis and the treatment of malaria using both laboratory-based molecular studies and clinical field-based approaches.

Overseas Mentor
Ousmane Koita, PhD, PharmD, is an associate professor and director of molecular parasitology at the School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Bamako. He is working with Dr. Krogstad on several studies of malaria, and he also collaborates with investigators at Brown University and at the Clinical Center of the NIH on HIV genotyping studies in Mali.

Research Areas
The primary research focus of the site in Mali is malaria, through the development of new antimalarials, molecular parasite genotyping and the analysis of host-gene expression in response to malaria infection. Ongoing studies include Phase II clinical trials of investigational antimalarials, molecular studies of genetic variability in the parasite and gene expression in the host, laboratory testing of medicinal plants and traditional remedies for antimalarial activity and studies of novel strategies for informed consent in illiterate populations.