We study life-threatening infections (e.g. sepsis, severe malaria etc.) that primarily impact maternal child health in low resource settings. Ours goals are to understand the underlying pathobiology of severe infections in order to develop next generation triage tools and pathway-directed therapeutics to decrease mortality and prevent brain injury in survivors.

Selected publications:

1. McDonald C, Cahill L, Gamble J, Elphinstone R, Gazdzinski M, Zhong K, Philson A, Madanitsa M, Kalilani-Phiri L, Mwapasa V, ter Kuile F, Sled J, Conroy A, Kevin C. Kain. Malaria in pregnancy alters L-arginine biosynthesis in Malawian women and L-arginine supplementation improves birth outcomes in a pre-clinical model. Science Translational Medicine 2018 10(431). pii: eaan6007. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aan6007. (featured on the cover and accompanied by an editorial) http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/10/431
2. S. Higgins, L. Purcell, K. Silver, M. Hawkes, A. Conroy, V. Tran, V. Crowley, R. Opoka, J. Hay, S. Quaggin, G. Thurston, W.C. Liles, K.C. Kain. Dysregulation of angiopoietin-1 plays a critical mechanistic role in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria. Science Translational Medicine 2016 Sep 28;8(358): 358ra128. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf6812. PMID: 27683553.
3. Chloe R. McDonald C, Cahill L, Ho K, Yang J, Kim H, Silver K, Ward P, Mount H, Liles WC, Sled J, Kain KC. Experimental malaria in pregnancy induces neurocognitive injury in uninfected offspring via a C5a-C5a receptor dependent pathway. PLoS Pathogens 2015 Sep 24;11(9):e1005140. doi: 10.1371/journal. ppat.1005140. PMID:26402732. (Featured on the cover).
4. Conroy A, Silver K, Zhong K, Ward P, Molyneux M, Sled J, Fletcher JF, Rogerson S, Kain KC. Complement activation, placental vascular insufficiency and fetal growth restriction in placental malaria. CELL Host and Microbe 2013 Feb 13;13(2):215-26. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2013.01.010. (Featured on the cover and accompanied by an editorial).
5. Ayi K, Min-Oo G, Serghides L, Crockett M, Kirby-Allen M, Quirt I, Gros P, Kain KC. Pyruvate Kinase deficiency protects against malaria. New England Journal of Medicine 2008; 358:1805-10. (Accompanied by an editorial).