Malaria remains one of the most significant global public health challenges, with more than 200 million clinical cases worldwide each year. The lack of an effective licensed vaccine and the continual emergence of drug-resistant malaria parasites make the search for new control and prevention strategies more important than ever. Additionally, to achieve malaria elimination, we require the generation of fundamental knowledge to facilitate the development of new tools for intervention. Malaria research is a highly collaborative field that relies on the contribution of unique resources, technologies and biological advances. Accessibility and timely sharing of these advances through the establishment of new collaborations is vital for their translation into public health impact.

The 16th BioMalPar conference at EMBL Heidelberg will address fundamental questions of the biology of the malaria parasite, its vector, the immune response of the host, the disease that it causes, and the latest technological approaches. The conference series has built on the success of the EU-funded Networks of Excellence EviMalaR and BioMalPar and, for one and a half decades, has brought together malaria researchers from around the world to present and share recent ground-breaking findings on fundamental malaria research in an integrated and highly collaborative environment. In keeping with the traditions of BioMalPar and EviMalaR, with emphasis on training and networking, the meeting will focus on allowing speaking opportunities for early stage researchers.