The Malaria Research Laboratories (MRL), at the Institute of Advanced Medical Research and Training, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan is a multidisciplinary research group involving collaborations among physicians and scientists from 3 Faculties of the College, the Faculty of Pharmacy and the University College Hospital. It is presently led by Prof. Grace O. Gbotosho and was designated a Centre of Excellence for Malaria Translational Research by the African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDi). Over the past 25 years, the group acquired expertise and established infrastructure to support basic and applied research especially on malaria with the aim of producing impacts on public health through reduction of malaria associated morbidity and mortality. The primary research areas in the group focuses on applications of basic research (molecular biology, pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics, molecular epidemiology, parasite genomics), clinical research (clinical trials at hospital and community levels and epidemiology), chemotherapy of drug resistant malaria, novel treatment modalities, evaluation of novel diagnostic techniques, community and public health education. The field site of the Laboratory is a designated sentinel site for clinical Antimalarial Drug Efficacy Testing by the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria providing data instrumental in supporting National Malaria Control efforts.
The group also devotes effort to training young physicians, scientists and postgraduate students in tropical disease research. Clinical and laboratory based scientists trained by the group are currently participating in various aspects of health care, research, medical education and decision making in Nigeria. The group has also established linkage and collaboration with National and State Health control programs including the Federal Ministry of Health and the Oyo State Ministry of Health.
The MRL has been strengthened by active and productive collaborations with leading scientists from institutions in Europe, Asia, North and South America and participation in research networks including the MIM/TDR funded Antimalarial Drug Resistant Network, the Worldwide Antimalarial Drug Resistant Network (WWARN) and Transfection Technology Network.
The Malaria Research Laboratories comprises the following units;
- Clinical Unit
- Malaria Clinic
- Community Field Sites
- Parasite Biology Laboratory
- In Vitro Laboratory
- Animal Unit
- Molecular Biology Unit
- Analytical Unit
Prof. Grace Olusola Gbotosho
Head of Unit
Prof. Grace Olusola Gbotosho is a Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and currently heads the Malaria Research Laboratories (MRL). She is a Fellow of the prestigious Nigerian Academy of Science and the African Academy of Sciences. She served as the Pioneer Head of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan between 2017 and 2021. The success of the MRL is visible in the establishment of a State-of–the-Art multidisciplinary malaria research laboratory that serves as a resource for research capacity building in infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Prof. Gbotosho’s career focuses on Pharmacology, applications in discovery of novel interventions (diagnostics and therapeutics) for infectious diseases and elucidation of drug resistance in malaria. She has collaborated with partners across Africa, Asia, UK and USA and has led as PI and Co-PI several international training grants for developing young investigators in sub-Saharan Africa. Prof. Gbotosho has 110 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and has served as an adviser to WHO/TDR at various consultation meetings in Asia and Europe.