Seattle BioMed supporter Christine Czark-Atkins has travelled a lot and has seen the heart-warming and heart-wrenching sides to many different cultures. "Since my daughter Cooper was born, I have especially paid attention to the ways people bring up children in other parts of the world," said Czark-Atikins. "Everyone has the same hopes and dreams for their kids, but they don’t have the same resources and opportunities."

When traveling in Latin America with her daughter, Czark-Atkins saw how challenging it could be to access simple things like clean water and malaria bednets. Perhaps the most difficult challenge she faced was getting her daughter to take her malaria medication. "It was brutal getting Cooper to take it because it tastes awful," she recalled. "I can see how difficult it is to make inroads against malaria with existing solutions, so Seattle BioMed’s focus on creating a vaccine to prevent malaria in the first place makes so much sense."

Czark-Atikins and her family are encouraging the development of new malaria vaccines by supporting Seattle BioMed's Breakthrough Fund. Learn how you can become involved and engaged in long-term solutions against malaria and other infectious diseases as a Seattle BioMed donor.