Towards a world free from malaria.
The FOLD-RX Research Group is an African-led malaria research group advancing the understanding of how malaria parasites survive and resist treatment, to develop better diagnostics and advance future therapies.
Understanding malaria’s hidden survival systems.
Malaria remains one of the world’s most serious health challenges, with children carrying the greatest burden. Although malaria is preventable and treatable, rising cases, drug resistance and gaps in early detection continue to make the disease difficult to control.
Improving malaria detection and treatment requires a clearer understanding of how the parasite survives inside the human body. The group studies malaria at a molecular level, helping build the knowledge needed to identify parasite weaknesses and support better diagnostics and future treatments.
Led by Dr Tawanda Zininga, FOLD-RX is hosted in the Department of Biochemistry at Stellenbosch University.
OUR APPROACH
Unlocking scientific advances for next-generation malaria solutions.
Our mission is to pioneer biochemistry and biophysics research to advance understanding of malaria, leveraging new scientific advances in protein folding and biomarkers to accelerate the development of next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics.
Collaboration & Visibility
Build partnerships across institutions and regions to strengthen African-led malaria research and increase its contribution to global science.
Capacity Development
Develop African research capacity in malaria molecular parasitology through postgraduate training and a future training hub.
Malaria Research
Advance scientific understanding of the protein folding system of malaria parasites to inform future diagnostics and therapies.
OUR RESEARCH
How parasites survive, spread and respond to stress
FOLD-RX advances scientific understanding of how malaria parasites survive, spread and respond to stress, with the aim of informing future diagnostics and therapies.
Biomarkers
Identifying biomarkers that can support early malaria diagnosis and screening, including signals that may help guide more targeted treatment.
Stress Response
Investigating how malaria parasites respond to fever, oxidative stress, drug pressure and nutrient limitation, and how these pressures shape parasite survival and drug susceptibility.
Therapies & Diagnostics
Understanding mechanisms of disease transmission and progression, including how malaria parasites regulate protein folding across different life-cycle stages, to inform the development of future therapeutics and diagnostics.
STORY
From lived experience to better malaria tools.
Dr Tawanda Zininga
Lead, FOLD-RX Research Group
Stellenbosch University
Dr Tawanda Zininga contracted malaria twice as a child. These experiences helped shape his decision to study the malaria parasite and contribute to better ways of detecting and treating the disease.
His early work in diagnostic laboratories deepened this focus. By working with clinical samples, he saw how accurate testing can influence care, treatment and health outcomes.
His research now focuses on how malaria parasites survive inside the body, including under fever, stress and treatment pressure. These survival systems are closely linked to drug resistance and remain an important area for new malaria research.
Dr Zininga’s published work has helped show why heat shock proteins matter in malaria. These proteins support parasite survival and may offer promising directions for future treatment and diagnostic research.
Through FOLD-RX, he is building a research group that brings together malaria science, postgraduate training and collaboration. The group strengthens African-led research capacity and contributes to global efforts to understand, detect and treat malaria more effectively.
“By understanding how malaria parasites survive, we can identify new ways to weaken them and support the development of better tools to fight the disease.”
PARTNER WITH US
How parasites survive, spread and respond to stress.
FOLD-RX is looking to partner with funders, donors, research collaborators, institutions and global health partners committed to advancing malaria research, better diagnostics, future therapies and African scientific leadership.
