DINKORMA T. OUOLOGUEM

Background: Dinkorma completed her PharmD at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Bamako. During her training, she participated from 1996 to 2007 in several field studies that used molecular markers of drug resistance to investigate the spread of resistant malaria parasites, their impact on malaria transmission, and the factors involved in parasite clearance. These works have contributed to the progressive changes in malaria treatment policies in Mali and sub-Saharan Africa. To better understand relevant mechanisms underlying malaria parasite biology and malaria pathogenesis, she pursued a Ph.D. degree at the University of Pennsylvania (USA). Her thesis work used the Toxoplasma parasite to investigate the mode of replication of apicomplexan parasites, including the malaria parasite. Continuing to work with Toxoplasma as a model system for the malaria parasite, she pursued post-doctoral training in Pr. David Roos Lab at the University of Pennsylvania and investigated vesicular trafficking. While parasite replication contributes to malaria pathogenesis, she grew an interest in the development of Plasmodium gametocytes, the only form of the parasite ensuring transmission to the mosquito. The success of malaria control and elimination will require the development of transmission-blocking strategies. Moving back to Mali, she joined the Malaria Research and Training Center for her postdoctoral training. She started her Faculty position in 2016 and she is establishing her research group. For the past years, her research group uses samples from clinical trials combined with ex-vivo culture and omics technologies to identify factors associated with the transmission of the malaria parasite in the field.