Parafrap 2025 Île des Embiez

In early October 2025 Simon attended the EMBO Workshop "Host-Parasite Relationship: From Mechanisms to Control Strategies", supported by ParaFrap, held on Île des Embiez, a French island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Parasitic infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The vast majority of parasitic infections in humans and domestic animals can be attributed to protozoan pathogens, including those causing malaria, African sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, or toxoplasmosis. Parasitism is found throughout the tree of life and parasitic organisms have become model systems for the study of biochemistry and molecular biology. They also represent valuable systems for integrated analyses of host-pathogen interplay.

This EMBO Workshop showcased the latest breakthroughs in host-parasite interactions, host manipulation and immune evasion, pathogenesis, parasite cell biology, parasite molecular biology and signalling, vaccination and control strategies. The conference covered multiple parasites (Plasmodium, Babesia, Toxoplasma, Cryptosporidium, Trichomonas, Trypanosoma, Leishmania, Shistosoma) and provided an outstanding opportunity to share cutting-edge science. The meeting included poster sessions and turbo talks, providing younger researchers the opportunity to present their work.

Simon was an invited speaker and gave a presentation entitled “Advances in vaccines and antibodies for blood-stage malaria”. Many thanks to the co-organisers – Lucy Glover and Benoît Gamain. It was fantastic to catch-up with friends, collaborators and colleagues from around the world, and also get to visit such a beautiful island with fantastic food!