Sarah Charnaud is a molecular parasitologist studying how the malaria parasite survives in red blood cells with the aim of finding new drug targets to cure this devastating tropical disease. Sarah completed her PhD at the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, Australia after moving from malaria drug discovery in London at LSHTM. She was born in South Africa and witnessed the effects of maternally transmitted HIV on young people. Feelings of helplessness sparked her interest in tackling diseases that disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable. She enjoys collaborating and thinking up new schemes, often while camping or mountain biking in the Australian outback.