ULK1 and malaria: Interestingly, the malaria pigment, hemozoin (HZ),—showed a moderate negative correlation with the mRNA levels of the three genes: ULK1 (rs = -0.57, P < 0.0001), BECN1 (rs = -0.40, P = 0.0088), and MAP1LC3B (rs = -0.42, P = 0.0053).