Mark A. Travassos, MD, MSc

• A.B.,Biology, Harvard University 
• MSc, Biology, Universityof Oxford
• M.D., Cornell University Medical College
• Pediatric residency, International Health Track, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
• Fellowship, Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Tropical Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Dr. Travassos is a pediatric infectious diseases specialist and member of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health's Malaria Research Program. His research focuses on malaria pathogenesis and epidemiology, with a focus on cerebral malaria and other forms of severe malaria. This includes study of:

• Malaria parasite variant surface antigens and their contribution to the development of severe malaria syndromes such as cerebral malaria
• How children with sickle cell trait are protected against illness from malaria
• The development of natural protective immunity to malaria in malaria-endemic regions

Dr. Travassos directs the Pathogenesis Unit of the Malaria Research Program.

Dr. Travassos' research also includes work in Ethiopia assessing vaccine coverage through the use of serosurveys.

Dr. Travassos is the Director of the Global Health Track for the Pediatrics Residency Program.

Postdoctoral fellows:

• Emily Stucke

Recent PhD graduates:

• Jonathan Lawton
• Emily Stucke
• Albert Zhou (MD/PhD)

Alumnae:

• Noah Ventimiglia
• Rachel Bailey, MD
• Paul Han, MD
• Joshua Craft, MD
• Madison Tewey

cerebral malaria, severe malaria, immunity, genomic epidemiology, immunoepidemiology, pathogenesis, microarray

1. Sobota RS, Stucke EM, Coulibaly D, Lawton JG, Cummings BE¹, Sebastian S, Dara A, Munro JB, Ouattara A, Kone AK, Kane B, Traoré K, Guindo B, Tangara BM, Niangaly A, Ventimiglia NT, Daou M, Diarra I, Tolo Y, Sissoko M, Maiga F, Diawara A, Traore A, Thera A, Laurens MB, Lyke KE, Kouriba B, Doumbo OK, Plowe CV, Goodlett DR, Silva JC, Thera MA, Travassos MA. A shared inflammatory signature across severe malaria syndromes manifested by transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic analyses. Nature Communications 2025 May 18;16(1):4620. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59281-5. PMID: 40383794.
2. Lawton JG, Zhou AE, Stucke EM, Takala-Harrison S, Silva JC, Travassos MA. Diamonds in the rif: Alignment-free comparative genomics analysis reveals strain-transcendent Plasmodium falciparum antigens amidst extensive genetic diversity. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 2025 Apr:129:105725. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2025.105725. Epub 2025 Feb 5. PMID: 39920908.
3. Bailey RD, Lawton JG, Niangaly A, Stucke EM, Bailey JA, Berry AA, Ouattara A, Coulibaly D, Lyke KE, Laurens MB, Zhou AE, Pablo J, Jasinskas A, Nakajima R, Adams M, Takala-Harrison S, Kouriba B, Kone AK, Guindo A, Rowe JA, Diallo DA, Doumbo OK, Felgner PL, Plowe CV, Thera MA, Travassos MA. Children with hemoglobin C or S trait have low serologic responses to a subset of malaria variant surface antigens. Journal of Infection 2024 Oct;89(4):106257. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2024.106257. Epub 2024 Aug 30. PMID: 39216830.
4. Zhou AE, Berry AA, Bailey JA, Pike 1, Dara A, Agrawal S, Stucke EM, Ouattara A, Coulibaly D, Lyke KE, Laurens MB, Adams M, Takala-Harrison S, Pablo J, Jasinskas A, Nakajima R, Niangaly A, Kouriba B, Kone AK, Rowe JA, Doumbo OK, Thera MA, Patel JJ, Tan JC, Felgner PL, Plowe CV, Travassos MA. Antibodies to peptides in semiconserved domains of RIFINs and STEVORs correlate with malaria exposure. mSphere 2019 Mar 20;4(2). pii: e00097-19. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00097-19. PMID: 30894432.
   
5. Travassos MA, Niangaly A, Bailey JA, Ouattara A, Coulibaly D, Lyke KE, Laurens MB, Pablo J, Jasinskas A, Nakajima R, Berry AA, Adams M, Jacob CG, Pike A, Takala-Harrison S, Liang L, Kouriba B, Kone AK, Rowe JA, Moulds J, Diallo DA, Doumbo OK, Thera MA, Felgner PL, Plowe CV.  Children with cerebral malaria or severe malarial anaemia lack immunity to distinct variant surface antigen subsets. Scientific Reports. 2018 Apr 19;8(1):6281. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-24462-4. PMID: 29674705.
   
6. Travassos MA, Beyene B, Adam Z, Campbell JD, Mulholland N, Diarra SS, Kassa T, Oot L, Sequeira J, Reymann M, Blackwelder WC, Wu Y, Ruslanova I, Goswami J, Sow SO, Pasetti MF, Steinglass R, Kebede A, & Levine MM. Immunization Coverage Surveys and Linked Biomarker Serosurveys in Three Regions in Ethiopia. PLoS One: (2016);11(3):e0149970. PMID: 26934372.
   
7. Travassos MA, Beyene B, Adam Z, Campbell JD, Mulholland N, Diarra SS, Kassa T, Oot L, Sequeira J, Reymann M, Blackwelder WC, Pasetti MF, Sow SO, Steinglass R, Kebede A, & Levine MM. Strategies for Coordination of a Serosurvey in Parallel with an Immunization Coverage Survey. American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene: (2015 Aug); 93(2): 426-424. PMID: 26055737.
   
8. Travassos MA, Coulibaly D, Laurens MB, Dembélé A, Tolo Y, Koné AK, Traoré K, Niangaly A, Guindo A, Wu Y, Berry AA, Jacob CG, Takala-Harrison S, Adams M, Shrestha B, Mu AZ, Kouriba B, Lyke KE, Diallo DA, Doumbo OK, Plowe CV, & Thera MA. Hemoglobin C trait provides protection from clinical falciparum malaria in Malian children. Journal of Infectious Diseases: (2015 Dec 1); 212(11): 1778-1786. PMID: 26019283.
   
9. Travassos MA, Coulibaly D, Bailey JA, Niangaly A, Adams M, Nyunt MM, Ouattara A, Lyke KE, Laurens MB, Pablo J, Jasinskas A, Nakajima R, Berry AA, Takala-Harrison S, Kone AK, Kouriba B, Rowe JA, Doumbo OK, Thera MA, Laufer MK, Felgner PL, & Plowe CV. Differential recognition of terminal extracellular Plasmodium falciparum VAR2CSA domains by sera from multigravid, malaria-exposed Malian women. American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene: (2015 Jun); 92(6): 1190-1194. PMID: 25918203.
   
10. Travassos MA, Niangaly A, Bailey JA, Ouattara A, Coulibaly D, Laurens MB, Pablo J, Jasinskas A, Nakajima-Sasaki R, Berry AA, Takala-Harrison S, Kouriba B, Rowe JA, Lyke KE, Doumbo OK, Thera MA, Felgner PL, & Plowe CV. Seroreactivity to the PfEMP1 intracellular domain in malaria-exposed children and adults. Journal of Infectious Diseases (2013 Nov 1); 208(9):1514-9. PMID: 23901079.
11. Global Health and Patient Advocacy:
    1. Craft JF, Openshaw JJ, Travassos PM, Travassos MA. Pulling the Drug Out From Underneath: Ethical Considerations in the Discontinuation of the Antimalarial Quinidine. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2025 Jun 27:ciaf271. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaf271. PMID: 40576352.
    2. Zhou AE & Travassos MA. Bringing sickle-cell treatments to children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The New England Journal of Medicine: 2022 Aug 11;387(6):488-491. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2201763. Epub 2022 Aug 6. PMID: 35929824.
    3. Foppiano Palacios C, Travassos MA. Vaccinating Detained Migrants against SARS-CoV-2 - Preventing Another Tragedy. The New England Journal of Medicine 2020 Dec 30. doi: 10.1056/NEJMpv2035416.PMID: 33378606.
    4. Openshaw JJ and Travassos MA. COVID-19 outbreaks in U.S. immigrant detention centers: the urgent need to adopt CDC guidelines for prevention and evaluation. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2020 May 31: ciaa692. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa692. PMID: 32474574.
    5. Foppiano Palacios C, Openshaw JJ, Travassos MA. Influenza in U.S. Detention Centers - The Desperate Need for Immunization. The New England Journal of Medicine 2020 Feb 27;382(9):789-791. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1916894. PMID: 31995681.
    6. Krey RA & Travassos MA. Severe Malaria Treatment in the United States at the Precipice. Annals of Internal Medicine 2019 Sep 3; 171(5):362-363. doi: 10.7326/M19-1144. PMID: 31426092.