Drissa Coulibaly is a physician and specialist in parasitology with extensive experience in pediatric studies in Mali, particularly Bandiagara. He conducted multiple malaria epidemiology studies in over the past two decades, including cross-sectional surveys, case-control studies, and longitudinal cohort studies. He was involved in developing Bandiagara as a malaria vaccine testing site in Mali since 1998 and has led multiple NIAID-sponsored studies there. He has expertise in the implementation of malaria vaccine clinical trials according to international standards. He successfully conducted Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials using candidates malaria vaccines based on MSP1 and AMA1 antigens and whole organism sporozoite-based malaria vaccine in Mali. He has been a faculty member for workshops on malaria case management for National Malaria Control Program staff and the health service providers in Mali. He led a five-year malaria incidence study in children in Bandiagara from 2009 to 2014 including geographic information systems-based analyses identifying parasite reservoirs in the community.

Actual work: Currently, Dr Coulibaly is leading: i) a five year incidence study supported by the NIH R01 5R01AI150534, awarded to Dr Coulibaly in 2021-2026, ii) a study of P. vivax infection in Duffy-negative erythrocyte supported by the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research (LMVR) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)/NIH, iii) a Phase 1a clinical trial of malaria vaccine candidate derived from P. falciparum merozoite surface protein 3 associated with CRM manufactured by Vac-4-All.

Selected publications

1. Coulibaly D, Guindo B, Niangaly A, Maiga F, Konate S, Kodio A et al., A Decline and Age Shift in Malaria Incidence in Rural Mali following Implementation of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention and Indoor Residual Spraying. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Mar 1: tpmd200622. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0622.
2. Coulibaly D, Travassos MA, Tolo Y, et al. Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Asymptomatic Malaria: Bridging the Gap Between Annual Malaria Resurgences in a Sahelian Environment. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2017 Dec;97(6):1761-1769. PMID:29141722
3. Noor AM, Kibuchi E, Mitto B, Coulibaly D, Doumbo OK, Snow RW. Sub-National Targeting of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention in the Sahelian Countries of the Nouakchott Initiative. PLoS One. 2015 Aug 31;10(8):e0136919. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136919. eCollection 2015. Erratum in: PLoS One. 2015;10(10):e0140414. PubMed PMID: 26322634
4. Thera MA, Doumbo OK, Coulibaly D, Plowe CV et al., A field trial to assess a blood-stage malaria vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2011. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1008115.
5. Agarwal A, Guindo A, Cissoko Y, Taylor JG, Coulibaly D et al., Hemoglobin C associated with protection from severe malaria in the Dogon of Mali, a West African population with a low prevalence of hemoglobin S. Blood. 2000 Oct1;96(7):2358-63. PubMed PMID: 11001883.