Dr. Evelien Bunnik earned her Ph.D. in Viral Immunology from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She then conducted her postdoctoral research in the lab of Dr. Karine Le Roch at the University of California Riverside, where she developed a deep interest in the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum. In 2016, she established her independent research group at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics.

Dr. Bunnik’s research group focuses on investigating the molecular and immunological mechanisms that underlie protective immunity to malaria, using human samples from well-characterized cohorts in malaria-endemic regions. A key focus of her research is to elucidate the characteristics of long-lived memory B cells, with the goal of improving the durability of malaria vaccine responses. Additionally, she studies how antibodies block the invasion of erythrocytes by the parasite and prevent infected erythrocytes from adhering to the endothelium. These processes are crucial for parasite replication and immune evasion, representing promising targets for vaccine development.