Jake Baum

Jake Baum is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London's Faculty of Natural Sciences. His research program focuses on the cellular biology of Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite, leveraging Imperial's unique UK containment-level-3 facility with integrated mosquito insectaries.

Research spans three interconnected pillars:

• Fundamental Parasite Biology: Mapping infectious-stage parasites (merozoites, gametocytes, sporozoites) using advanced microscopy, molecular tools, and single-cell RNA sequencing.
• Diagnostic Innovation: Collaborating across engineering and medicine to develop point-of-care diagnostics detecting drug resistance and transmission patterns for epidemiological surveillance.
• Vaccine Development: Pioneering whole-parasite (sporozoite-targeted) and computationally designed subunit vaccines to address the 50-year gap in malaria vaccine efficacy.

His lab actively partners with Imperial College departments and global networks to advance malaria eradication strategies.