Giselle Lima-Cooper, PhD

Bio

Dr. Lima-Cooper leads molecular malaria research in Dr. Chandy John’s lab, investigating the interactions between Plasmodium parasite genetics, human host genetic resistance or susceptibility to malaria infection, and malaria pathogenesis. Her research focuses on identifying molecular and biological determinants of malaria severity, clinical outcomes, and long-term neurocognitive impairment in children surviving severe malaria. She also investigates the epidemiology and clinical significance of different Plasmodium species, including asymptomatic infections, mixed-species infections, and their implications for malaria transmission and disease progression.

Her scientific career began in Brazil, where her undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral research focused on malaria in remote endemic communities and the development of molecular screening approaches to improve blood transfusion safety. Building on this foundation, she now leads laboratory-based molecular investigations and collaborates with multidisciplinary malaria-focused research groups at Indiana University and in Uganda, integrating molecular diagnostics, parasite and host genetics, epidemiology, and clinical research.

Dr. Lima-Cooper is particularly interested in understanding how malaria susceptibility and outcomes differ across age groups and vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, immunocompromised individuals, and recipients of blood transfusions or organ transplants. Her broader research aims to uncover mechanisms underlying severe malaria and its complications, identify biomarkers associated with adverse clinical and neurodevelopmental outcomes, and advance innovative approaches to malaria diagnosis, surveillance, and prevention.

Through interdisciplinary and international collaborations, she seeks to bridge laboratory discoveries with clinical and public health applications, contributing to a deeper understanding of malaria biology and the development of more effective strategies to reduce its global burden.