Chet Joyner receives Fred C. Davison Early Career Scholar Award
Chester Joyner, assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s infectious diseases department and member of CTEGD, is integrating molecular biology, immunology and vaccine development to develop new therapies needed to treat and prevent malaria. His work addresses some of the biggest challenges in the field by studying Plasmodium vivax dormancy in the liver, investigating why malaria infections fail to generate long-lived immune responses and leading the preclinical testing of an innovative vaccine strategy that counteracts the parasite’s ability to inhibit development of long-lived immunity. Through these studies, his lab has overcome one of malaria’s greatest challenges: the inability to genetically manipulate P. vivax in the lab, developing novel techniques to introduce genetic modifications into P. vivax and opening new avenues for biology and vaccinology. Joyner has secured more than $7.3 million in research funding, authored 30 peer-reviewed publications and been invited to share his work at major international conferences. His work is shaping the future of malaria treatment and eradication strategies.
Originally published in Columns as part of their Honors Week coverage: https://news.uga.edu/2025-research-awards/