About this Research Topic

Background

The advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies has revolutionized contemporary genetic and genomic malaria studies and our ability to understand parasite and vector genetic variation, transmission dynamics, and evolution in unprecedented detail. Both whole genome sequencing and targeted genotyping panels are now possible using platforms such as Illumina and Oxford Nanopore, enabling the development of cost-effective approaches for malaria molecular surveillance at epidemiologically- and operationally-relevant time scales. These technological advances have led to the development of novel bioinformatic approaches, statistical methods, and analytical pipelines to handle the complex and vast amounts of genomic data generated.

The landscape of malaria genomic surveillance is rapidly evolving but despite its potential public health value, the use of genomic data for programmatic decision-making is still in its early stages. To achieve wider adoption, sequencing approaches and data generation must be operationally feasible and timely, while ensuring data is robust and inferences are translatable into actionable information to support decision-making. Multiple research groups and operational research programs are actively addressing these challenges, while also fostering strong collaborations with national malaria control programs to facilitate in-country implementation of surveillance approaches.

This Research Topic aims to showcase the latest advances in genetic and genomic approaches for malaria surveillance and consolidate the collective interdisciplinary knowledge and experiences of those working in this field. By bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines working in different epidemiological settings to contribute their insights, findings, and methodologies, we hope to bridge the gap between traditional malaria surveillance methods and genomic surveillance, underscoring its potential for improved control and elimination strategies. This Research Topic will highlight recent developments and applications of novel sequencing methods, genotyping panels, and bioinformatic tools to support the integration of genomic data with epidemiological information and the potential for genomic surveillance to provide actionable information for national malaria control programs.

We welcome contributions that cover a wide range of themes related to advanced genetic and genomic approaches for malaria surveillance, spanning both wet and dry labs as well as applied epidemiology and analytical tool development. We invite authors to submit original research articles, reviews, methods, perspectives, and opinion papers. We particularly encourage interdisciplinary collaborations and studies that combine genetic and genomic data with other relevant fields, such as epidemiology, entomology, statistics, modeling, and public health. Potential areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

1. Development and validation of novel sequencing techniques or genotyping panels for malaria parasites and/or vectors.
2. Integration of genomic data with epidemiological and clinical information.
3. Development and validation of bioinformatic tools, statistical methods, and analytical pipelines, for example, to estimate the complexity of infection.
4. Population genomics to understand transmission dynamics and connectivity, for example, using relatedness measures such as identity-by-descent.
5. Application of genetic and genomic surveillance for specific use cases, for example, monitoring interventions and evaluating their impact.
6. Methodological advancements to translate genomic data into actionable information for malaria control and elimination decision-making.
7. Advances in genomic approaches for non-P. falciparum spp. or Anopheline vectors

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Malaria, plasmodium falciparum, plasmodium vivax, genomic epidemiology, malaria molecular surveillance

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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