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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 in the prestigious scientific journal Cell the article "Gut microbiotic elicits a protective immune response against malaria transmission"where he describes the ability of a type of bacteria type of bacteria that reside in the gut to stimulate the immune system against the malaria parasite by producing antibodies against a sugar on the surface of these bacteria. In addition to the article published in the journal Cellhis work was recently recognized with the 2015 Pfizer Award in Basic Research.

The protective mechanism now discovered by Bahtiyar Yilmaz could be induced by a vaccine that causes the immune system to produce high levels of these antibodies. Tests in mice have shown that this could be a path to developing an effective vaccine to fight 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 of age, which increase in adulthood. For the scientists, this may be the reason why children living in disease-endemic regions are more predisposed to infection.

O Pulido Valente Science Award distinguishes the work of a young researcher, under 35 years old, in the area of Biomedical Sciences. Awarded by FCT and Fundação Pulido Valente, this prize is worth 10 thousand Euros.

Bahtiyar Yilmaz is a former student of the doctoral program of the Gulbenkian Institute of Science in the laboratory of Miguel Soares. Co-authors of the award-winning study were: 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)