Two University of South Florida faculty members have received prestigious honors and
subsequent kudos from an international community of scientists for their work in the
fight against infectious disease.
Dr. John Adams, distinguished professor, Department of Global, Environmental, and Genomic Health Sciences in USF’s College of Public Health (COPH), was honored at the annual conference of the American Society of Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) in Toronto. He received the William Trager Award for
Basic Parasitology, which recognizes a fundamental breakthrough in molecular, cellular
or immune-parasitology.
“It is very gratifying to know that my lab’s contributions to science are being seen
and are able to help people around the world,’’ Adams said. “I’m honored to receive
this prestigious award. I also had the fortunate opportunity to meet Dr. Trager very
early in my career. That makes this award even more meaningful.”
Dr. John Adams in his lab. (Photo courtesy of USF Health)
Dr. Sten Vermund, dean of COPH, received accolades for his work in HIV prevention and was invited
to speak at the Toronto meeting − one of the largest infectious disease conferences
in the world. Vermund was chosen as the Fred L. Soper Lecturer, given to distinguished
workers in environmental control or preventive medicine. His topic, “The Vital Case
for Global Health Investments by the U.S. Government,’’ emphasized the value of tropical
disease research at a time when the country is curtailing its commitment.
Soper, who died in 1977, was a pioneer in this research and spearheaded an international
group in working to limit or eradicate malaria, yellow fever, smallpox and yaws.
“This is an honor and I’m pleased to be in this family of scientists,’’ Vermund said. “Soper is a 20th century legend. I was humbled and amazed to be thrown into that mix.’’
Vermund said the award bestowed on Adams reflects the important work being done at
USF: “This is a ringing endorsement of the vision of people like John and his colleagues
at COPH, as they’ve helped build a strong global health lab program here. I met Dr. Trager, after whom Adams’ award is named, when I was a medical student
attending the New York Society of Tropical Medicine monthly meetings at the Rockefeller
University where Dr. Trager hosted us.’’
Adams’ research focuses on malaria parasite biology, host-parasite interactions and
understanding the critical metabolic processes important for infection and pathogenesis.
The basic science research in his COPH group seeks to better understand the complex
biology that enables parasites to progress successfully − with devastating consequences
on human health.
Adams' work on the saturation of the Plasmodium falciparum genome, which resulted
in a Science paper in 2018, has been pivotal in malaria genomics research. The paper
later led to an additional Science paper from the Adams lab on Plasmodium knowlsei genome
saturation and was connected to a Science paper from Dr. Manoj T Duraisingh at Harvard
University on the same topic.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes,
and while preventable and curable, modern science has yet to eradicate it worldwide.
One reason is the adaptability of the Plasmodium parasite that causes the disease:
It often can evade the effectiveness of current, first-generation vaccines due to
its genetic diversity and evolution.
Globally in 2024, there were an estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610, 000 malaria
deaths in 80 countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Because their immune systems are not fully developed, children under 5 account for
about 75% of all malaria deaths.
Adams’ work follows in the path of Dr. Donna Petersen, former COPH dean and professor Department of Community Health Sciences; and Dr.
Tom Unnasch, distinguished USF Health professor, COPH Department of Global, Environmental,
and Genomic Health Sciences. They helped hone the university’s focus on infectious
diseases, especially those that affect countless children in countries with limited
or under-sourced health care programs.
Dr. Sten Vermund speaking at the ASTMH conference. (Photo courtesy of Vermund).
“The USF faculty has been working hard on the prevention and control of some of the
infectious scourges of the world, including malaria, river blindness, arboviruses,
and HIV. This work is a source of pride for our university and the state of Florida,’’
Vermund added. “These diseases affect Americans, our military, travelers and children,
and Dr. Adams’ work will guide making a much better vaccine than we have now.’’
Adams’ dedication to the malaria field includes achieving the milestone of the first
saturation mutagenesis map, advancing vaccine development, and bringing genetics and
drug discovery together in powerful new ways, said Dr. Rays H. Y. Jiang, an associate professor COPH and an expert on malaria.
“These are the kinds of contributions that move a field forward’’ Jiang said. “COPH
is proud to have him as part of our community, and it’s great to see his work recognized
at this level.’’
The purpose of the ASTMH and its annual conference is to:
- Promote interactions among scientists who work in the varied disciplines of parasitology, especially in basic laboratory, pre-clinical and translational research, clinician sciences and population-based sciences.
- Foster transfer of discoveries in basic research to applications that improve human health and to promote learning basic science aspects of parasitic diseases from humans afflicted with parasitic diseases.
- Sponsor symposia or workshops on advancing research in medical parasitology.
- Recruit and train people in recent advances in medical parasitology.
- Recognize outstanding contributions to parasitology.