By knocking out a gene essential to the parasite's development, Kappe hopes to create a vaccine against malaria.

FORBES: Chutzpah Science

In late June Kappe was one of 43 principal scientists to win a chunk of the multiyear Grand Challenge awards, funded largely by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

FORBES: Chutzpah Science

Every week in a tiny, humid room (nicknamed The Swamp) at the nonprofit Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Kappe and his colleagues slit open between 2, 000 and 3, 000 mosquitoes to collect the microscopic parasites that cause malaria.

FORBES: Chutzpah Science

Stefan Kappe is a bug-killer.

FORBES: Chutzpah Science