UGA's Kurup on the PATH to stop malaria

UGA faculty member But Samarchith “Sam” Kurup is determined to strengthen  immune defenses against malaria. Now, thanks to a prestigious Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (PATH) award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, his lab is one step closer.

Burroughs Wellcome recently announced its 2025 cohort of eight innovative scientists. Kurup is the first University of Georgia faculty member to receive this highly competitive award.

Growing up in India, Kurup saw malaria’s toll firsthand. That drove him to study parasites—first as a veterinarian, and then as a Ph.D. student. After completing training in veterinary medicine, he pursued his Ph.D. at UGA, studying another parasite that infects both humans and animals, Trypanosoma cruzi. He also began pairing his parasitology knowledge with immunology.

After graduating, Kurup returned as a postdoc to the study of Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria. In 2019, Kurup joined the faculty in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases where he has established a robust research program.

“My lab is trying to understand how we, as hosts, fight malaria parasites in the liver,” said Kurup. “We know the liver cells have their own ‘home defense system’ and don’t have to call in other immune cells to handle the parasites. But somehow a few parasites are able to circumvent this defense system.”

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Image: Assistant Professor Samarchith “Sam” Kurup (Photo by Lauren Corcino)