Maria Gabriela Chica

Colombian biochemist who pioneered malaria vaccine research in Amazon regions

Maria Gabriela Chica (b. 1978) made groundbreaking contributions to tropical medicine by developing the first malaria vaccine prototype targeting Amazon Basin strains in 2004. Working in Colombia's Amazon Research Institute, she identified a protein variant in Plasmodium vivax unique to the region through her 2001-2006 field studies. Her 2007 paper Targeting Pv230 Malaria Surface Protein became foundational for subsequent vaccine research. Chica co-founded the TropiMed Network in 2010, training 200+ researchers in field epidemiology across 7 South American countries. Her 2015 partnership with Brazil's Fiocruz Institute led to the Phase II clinical trials of the Chica-230 vaccine, showing 78% efficacy in early results. She established the Amazon Health Observatory in 2018, which now monitors 12 million people across 3 million km². Her 2020 TEDx talk "The Amazon's Malaria Mystery" has 3.2 million views. Chica's work influenced the WHO's 2021 Global Malaria Strategy, with her team's research cited in 47% of recent tropical disease studies.