PATH’s Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) announced a new collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and Imperial College London “to measure the capacity of different vaccine candidates in human clinical testing to elicit an immune response aimed at protecting against deadly malaria parasites.” David C. Kaslow, M.D., director of MVI, said, “Until now, malaria vaccine scientists have struggled to directly compare the cellular immune response elicited in humans by one vaccine to that of another, and this has hampered the ability to prioritize a portfolio of vaccine candidates. We are fortunate to have in IAVI and Imperial College London partners with a track record of developing validated human immunological assays. Through this new collaboration, we look forward to being able to make better informed decisions about if and how various malaria vaccines elicit immune responses at the cellular level in humans.” MVI said the tests will help “prioritize investments and allow scientists to refine vaccine strategies by showing whether a particular formulation, delivery approach, or vaccine adjuvant elicits a superior cell-mediated immune response.” More at: http://www.malariavaccine.org/pr2012Aug20-referencelab.php