Email: Ryan.Henrici@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research interests

malaria, sickle cell disease, drug resistance, humoral immunity, immunotherapy, drug development

Key words:

malaria, artemisinin, drug resistance, antibodies, global health

Description of research

I work with colleagues and physicians between the US, UK, and Uganda to understand how the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum causes disease and evolves drug resistance in patients with and without inherited disorders of hemoglobin, such as Sickle Cell Disease. Our team focuses on how parasite and host factors influence clinical outcomes in outpatient and critical care settings particularly as frontline drug resistance to artemisinins emerges and spreads on the African continent. We are particularly interested in how frontline and emerging small molecule drugs work by combining advanced laboratory techniques such as Cas-mediated genome editing and high-resolution microscopy with real-world clinical studies using deep sequencing to track parasite lineages within treated patients.

Selected publications 

Henrici, R.C.; Namazzi, R.; Lima-Cooper, G; Kato, C.; Aliwuya, S.; Dombrowski, J.G.; Pratt, S.; Campino, S.; Conroy, A.L.; Sutherland, C.J.; John, C.J.; Opoka, R.O.; Artemisinin Partial Resistance in Uganda Children with Complicated Malaria. JAMA (2024).

Henrici, R.C.; Sautter, C.; Opoka, R.O.; Namazzi, R.; Datta, D.; Ware R.E.; Conroy, A.L.; John, C.C.; Decreased parasite burden and altered host response in children with sickle cell anemia and severe anemia with malaria. Blood Advances (2022).

Mohring, F.; van Schalkwyk, D.A.; Henrici, R.C.; Blasco B.; Leroy D.; Sutherland, C.J.; Moon, R.W. Cation ATPase (ATP4) Orthologue Replacement in the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium knowlesi Reveals Species-Specific Responses to ATP4-Targeting Drugs. mBio (2022).

Henrici, R.C.; Edwards, R.L.; Zoltner, M.; van Schalkwyk, D.A.; Hart, M.N.; Mohring, F.; Moon, R.W.; Nofal, S.D.; Patel, A.; Flueck, C.; Baker, D.A.; John, A.O.; Field, M.C.; Sutherland, C.J.; The Plasmodium falciparum artemisinin susceptibility-associated AP-2 adaptin µ subunit is clathrin-independent and essential for schizont-maturation. mBio 11, 1-16 (2020).

Henrici, R.C.; van Schalkwyk, D.A.; Sutherland, C.J.; Modification of pfap2µ and pfubp1 markedly reduced ring-stage susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum to artemisinin in vitro. Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy 64, 1-9 (2019).

Henrici, R.C.; Sutherland, C.J.; An alternative pathway to reduced artemisinin susceptibility in Plasmodium falciparum. PNAS (2018).