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Andrew Osborne is interested in the basic biology of the human malaria parasite. The World Health Organization estimates 608,000 deaths due to malaria in 2022, indicating that the disease remains a major problem. The malaria parasite has a complex lifecycle, with blood stage infections leading to various symptoms of the disease. During this lifecycle stage, the malaria parasite resides in red blood cells. Human red blood cells are unusually simple compared to other cell types, which presents unique challenges for the malaria parasite's survival. Understanding how the malaria parasite survives in red blood cells raises significant questions in the field. It is known that the parasite transports hundreds of proteins into the red blood cells, effectively 'renovating' the cellular environment. Key questions that Osborne's lab is interested in include the functions of parasite proteins exported into red blood cells and their roles in cellular processes. Addressing these questions from a basic biology perspective is extremely important for understanding severe disease pathology and for vaccine design.