Last Updated: 06/09/2024
NOMADS II: Expanding nanopore sequencing of malaria
Objectives
The main objectives of this project are:
- Integrate nanopore sequencing into routine surveillance in Zambia;
- Expand nanopore sequencing to new geographies through collaboration and capacity building; and
- Optimize existing and develop novel nanopore sequencing assays for malaria molecular surveillance.
With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the NMEC Oxford Malaria Amplicon Drug-resistance Sequencing (NOMADS) team developed a cost-effective and scalable testing material (known as an assay) for antimalarial drug resistance in P. falciparum that uses a technique called nanopore sequencing. When the team tested the assay at the Zambian Ministry of Health’s National Malaria Elimination Centre (NMEC), they demonstrated that rapid in-country sequencing to identify antimalarial drug resistance was not only possible, but also required minimal infrastructure, allowing for the detection of drug resistance to happen closer to where policies and decisions are made.
Capacity Building
Drug Resistance
Enabling Technologies & Assays
Health Workforce
Surveillance
Nov 2022 — Dec 2025
$3.73M
