Johns Hopkins Mosquito Minute

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Life Sciences
  • Updated Biweekly

Impactful malaria science and the trailblazers leading the fight. A podcast from the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute in partnership with the Naked Scientists.

  1. Oct 5

    Could groundbreaking vaccine help eliminate malaria?

    For decades, scientists pursued one goal: a vaccine that could prevent the disease. But malaria is caused by a complex parasite, making vaccine development far more challenging than for most infectious diseases. One scientist dedicated his career to this challenge. Sir Adrian Hill of the University of Oxford witnessed children dying from malaria in Gambia in the late 1980s and set out to develop a vaccine that could save lives where it was needed most. For this work, he received the European Inventor Award in July, 2026 – one of the most prestigious science prizes in the world. The R21/Matrix-M vaccine, recommended by the WHO in 2023, is now rolling out across Africa at less than three pounds per dose – raising hopes that one day malaria could be eliminated altogether. In this edition of the Mosquito Minute, host Chris Smith speaks with Sir Adrian.

  2. Aug 18

    Malaria drug revolution

    Chris talks with Dr. Justin Boddey from Melbourne's WEHI about a promising new way to halt malaria, and make people immune at the same time.

  3. Jul 14

    Sickle cell defeated malaria and opened up pastures new

    Host Chris Smith speaks with Andrea Manica, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Cambridge, about what our ancient ancestors can teach us about grappling with malaria.

  4. Jun 4

    Half a million years of malaria and its control, with guest Sonia Shah

    Chris speaks with Sonia Shah, author of The Fever, about the history of malaria and human efforts to control it.

  5. May 21

    Malaria in Africa -- Guest: Emory University malaria expert Dr. Boghuma Titanji

    Why the continent accounts for the overwhelming majority of cases.

  6. Apr 24

    Driven to End Malaria: World Malaria Day 2026 with Ashley Birkett from the PATH Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access

    World Malaria Day 2026 is marked under the theme Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must.

  7. Mar 3

    The Naked Scientists' "Titans of Science" Series: Jane Carlton

    Professor Jane Carlton is director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. Dr. Chris Smith of the Naked Scientists interviews Jane about her research, her career and the future of malaria.

  8. 11/18/2025

    EXTENDED: Baby Wraps and Malaria – A New Tool to Protect Young Children (with Ross Boyce)

    In sub-Saharan Africa, mothers often carry their babies on their backs in colorful cotton wraps called lesu. Could treating these wraps with insecticide help prevent malaria? Dr. Ross Boyce discusses a groundbreaking study in Uganda showing that permethrin-treated wraps significantly reduce malaria in infants – and further, what this could mean for protecting the youngest and most vulnerable children from this often fatal disease.

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Impactful malaria science and the trailblazers leading the fight. A podcast from the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute in partnership with the Naked Scientists.

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