A consortium of malaria researchers in Georgia has received a five-year federal contract worth up to $19.4 million.

The money is meant to establish the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center. The consortium is made up of researchers from Emory University, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University will administer the contract.

The team plans to study and catalog in molecular detail how malaria parasites interact with their human and animal hosts. That information could be used to develop and evaluate new diagnostic tools, antimalarial drugs and vaccines.

The team plans to develop a public website and specialized web portal to share the project's data and newly developed data analysis tools with the scientific community worldwide.

Tags: Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emory University, malaria, malaria research