Dr. Koji Lum

Dr. Koji Lum is the principal investigator on the five-year, $1.5 million study, which is being funded by the National Institutes of Health. The research centers around 11,000 samples of human blood collected in malaria-prone areas of the world over the last 60 years. Dr. Ralph Garruto, co-investigator on the study, brought the samples to Binghamton University from the National Institutes of Health and oversees the archive at Binghamton University.

Drs. Lum and Garruto will extract the malaria parasites from the samples, and will then extract DNA from the parasites in order to study the extracted DNA to look for clues as to how, and why, the parasites evolved to be resistant to chloroquine.

Life cycle of malaria, NIH
(Click graphic for larger version)

WSKG'S DNA Files homepage

Over the past five weeks, WSKG Radio has aired a series of reports on genetic science research in our region. The reports we've heard have usually focused on the end result of a study or period of research. In our last piece in the series, Crystal Sarakas takes a different approach with a look at the beginning of the process with a look at a new study at Binghamton University.

Transcript of radio report
(coming soon)

Listen now (9 minutes):