A group of Georgia researchers stand to receive up to $19.4 million in federal money to study malaria and find preventative and therapeutic measures for a disease that is an endemic in about 100 countries.

The five-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will establish in Atlanta the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center, officials announced Monday.

Emory University, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will form the research consortium. Emory’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center will administer the contract.

Researchers expect their work will provide “a groundbreaking wealth of information that will address current challenges in fighting malaria,” according to a news release.

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez