Harrisonburg, VA - Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite spread by mosquitoes. Unfortunately, malaria has been a part of human history for so long, it is hard to know just how many people have died as a result of the disease. However, scientists and doctors have been able to diagnose and understand how the disease affects the human body. It is the hope of thousands of scientists, doctors, and malaria patients that science holds the key to unlocking the drug for resistant strains of malaria.

It is this hope that drove Bharath Balu to spend 15 years studying the malaria parasite. "Millions of people are suffering from the disease and many of them are the world's impoverished, I took an interest in science while I was young and decided I'd dedicate my work to malaria," says Bharath Balu. His years of research led to his many presentations and publications about his research.

"I've attended over 30 conferences to make oral or poster presentations about my research. I also presented once in Panama and once in Italy," says Bharath Balu. On top of the many conferences he's attended Bharath Balu has published 20 research articles with different science journals. "My first articles were published in 2003. My most recent article has been published in PLoS Genetics," says Bharath Balu.

To try to unlock a drug for resistant strains of malaria, Bharath Balu studied the molecular and cellular biology of the parasite. His research on the disease stems from his most recent work at SRI International to his previous position at the University of South Florida where he worked as a "postdoctoral fellow on forward functional genomics of the malaria parasite." "The purpose of all my work and research was focused on discovering an anti-malarial drug, that is why we looked at the very genes and genetic makeup of the parasite," says Bharath Balu.

Bharath Balu knows that he is just one of many studying malaria. It is his hope that he will be remembered for the contribution he made to malaria research. Bharath Balu knows that with scientists reviewing each other's research and sharing their knowledge, a treatment for drug-resistant malaria will eventually be found.

About: Bharath Balu has contributed to researching the malaria parasite to find a new drug for the infectious disease.