Background

Dr. Patrapuvich currently heads the Drug Research Unit for Malaria (DRUM) which specializes in new approaches for drug discovery and improved understanding of drug resistance evolution in malaria parasites. Dr. Patrapuvich obtained her BSc in Biochemistry from Chulalongkorn University and her MSc and PhD in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Thailand.  Dr. Patrapuvich received advanced training in malaria genetics and malaria pharmacology in two laboratories: The Yuthavong Lab at BIOTEC in Bangkok, Thailand, and the Rathod Lab at the University of Washington, in Seattle, WA, USA.

Departments/Centers

• Drug Research Unit for Malaria (DRUM)

Research

Dr. Patrapuvich’s early research focused on applying functional genomic tools such as spotted DNA microarrays, comparative genomic hybridization, and next-generation sequencing to understand gene regulation and mechanisms of drug resistance in malaria parasites. After joining Mahidol University in 2012 as a lead scientist of a liver-stage lab at Mahidol Vivax Research Unit, she successfully developed a novel in vitro P. vivax liver-stage model, which is utilized for screening anti-liver stage compounds provided by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).

In 2017, Dr. Patrapuvich was appointed as the Head and Principle Investigator of the newly established “Drug Research Unit for Malaria (DRUM)” at Mahidol University. Her research focuses on the discovery and development of new antimalarial drugs. She recently received a NIH-USJCMSP Award used to establish a new system that will enrich P. vivax hypnozoites in vitro for anti-relapse assays. In addition, Dr. Patrapuvich also supports the NIH International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) for South Asia by establishing methods for the study of sporozoite production in Indian mosquitoes, liver-stage infections with Indian sporozoites and production of merozoites from liver cells. She has established drug assays to study multiple stages of malaria parasite development used to evaluate susceptibility and resistance to antimalarial control measures.

Ongoing Research Project(s)

Research Name	Funding Source
• โครงการ Mahidol-UW Malaria Research Initiative	ทุนสนับสนุนพัฒนาความร่วมมือระหว่างประเทศ Joint Unit
• แบบจำลองสมบูรณ์แบบของเชื้อพลาโมเดียม ไวแวกซ์ ฮิบโนซอยท์ เพื่อใช้ทดสอบยับยั้งภาวะไข้กลับของโรคมาลาเรีย	ทุน Fundamental Fund ประเภท Basic Research Fund ภายใต้แผนงานย่อย : พัฒนานักวิจัย มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล ประเภททุนวิจัยเพื่อพัฒนาองค์ความรู้ใหม่ (New Discovery) และบุกเบิกศาสตร์แขนงใหม่ (Frontier Research) จากเงินรายได้ (ทุนมหาวิทยาลัย)