Dr Cristina Ariani

Malaria Parasite Surveillance Lead

 

About Cristina

Dr Cristina Ariani is an evolutionary biologist and pathogen genomics expert at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, where she leads the Malaria Parasite Programme within the Genomic Surveillance Unit. Her work focuses on large-scale genomic surveillance of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, providing real-time insights to support global malaria control and elimination efforts. Cristina plays a key role in MalariaGEN, a global data-sharing network, where she helps develop and deliver accessible genomic resources, tools, and applications, including those supporting the Pf8 datasets. Her team developed open tools and applications to ensure that high-quality data can be used effectively by researchers and public health programmes. Cristina is deeply committed to open science and global equity in research, championing collaborations that strengthen genomic capacity in malaria-endemic regions and ensure that data is translated into public health impact.

Previous work

After earning her PhD from Cambridge University studying genetic variation in Aedes vectors, she joined Dominic Kwiatkowski’s group, pioneering a field‑changing method to sequence malaria parasites from dried blood spots—a lightweight, scalable approach perfectly suited for field conditions. During the COVID‑19 pandemic, Cristina transitioned into operations leadership, building the Genomic Surveillance Unit’s capacity to process millions of SARS‑CoV‑2 genomes through Project Heron. With that operational experience and a deep commitment to community‑focused science, she now drives malaria parasite genomic surveillance at scale—partnering with global health organisations to deliver actionable insights and strengthen public‑health responses. Previously she worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Zoology in London working on the conservation genetics of endangered species. She holds a Master degree from the State University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, studying the ecology of lizards.

Cristina combines visionary scientific leadership with hands‑on operational expertise and an unwavering dedication to collaborative, impact‑driven research.

 

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