IDM Emerging Young Scientists shine with recent publications
A series of excellent journal publications have recently been published in which the first or senior author has been an IDM Emerging Young Scientist. Our congratulations to them (and their collaborators) and here's some information on each of the young scientists, a who's who in the IDM!
The Lancet Respiratory Medicine (2015) 3(3):190-200
'Safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the candidate tuberculosis vaccine MVA85A in healthy adults infected with HIV-1: a randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial'.
Ndiaye BP, Thienemann F, Ota M, Landry BS, Camara M, Dièye S, Dieye TN, Esmail H, Goliath R, Huygen K, January V, Ndiaye I, Oni T, Raine M, Romano M, Satti I, Sutton S, Thiam A, Wilkinson KA, Mboup S, Wilkinson RJ, McShane H; MVA85A 030 trial investigators. (IDM colleagues)
This landmark study was led by Professor Robert Wilkinson, Dr Friedrich Thienemann and the Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Initiative (CIDRI) team, as well as their international collaborators, led by Professor Helen McShane from the University of Oxford. HIV-1 infection is associated with increased risk of tuberculosis and a safe and effective vaccine would assist control measures. Between 2011 and 2013 they assessed, through 650 participants, a candidate tuberculosis vaccine in adults infected with HIV-1. This is the first time that a candidate tuberculosis vaccine has been assessed for efficacy against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in people infected with HIV-1. The results show that vaccinating adults infected with HIV-1 with MVA85A is safe, but does not confer protection against infection with M. tuberculosis. [more details in a previous web news article]
Dr. Thienemann joined CIDRI five years ago from Charité, Germany, one of the largest university hospitals in Europe and a joint institution of Freie & Humboldt Universities. He is a physician, and is now leading a new vaccine trial in Khayelitsha, Cape Town on multiple drug resistant TB, funded by EDCTP and SAMRC SHIP grants.
Chemistry and Biology (2015) 22(1):63-75
'The complex mechanism of antimycobacterial action of 5-Fluorouracil'
Singh V, Brecik M, Mukherjee R, Evans JC, Svetlíková Z, Blaško J, Surade S, Blackburn J, Warner DF, Mikušová K, Mizrahi V. (IDM colleagues)
A combination of chemical, genetic and biochemical assays found the anticancer drug 5-FUkills Mtb by targeting multiple complex pathways.
Dr. Vinayak Singh is a Postdoctoral Fellow working with Professor Valerie Mizrahi, Director of the IDM, in the Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit. He came to the IDM in May 2011 from the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India, specifically to work on the multinational project 'More Medicines for Tuberculosis' (MM4TB).
Cell Host & Microbe (2015) 17:252–259
'The C-Type Lectin Receptor CLECSF8/CLEC4D is a key component of anti-mycobacterial immunity'
G. Wilson et al., including C. Hoving (senior author), J Marakalala, R. Keeton, M. Jacobs
& Gordon Brown (corresponding author; IDM Adjunct Member). (IDM colleagues)
Dr. Claire Hoving holds an NRF Research Career Development award within the Division of Immunology in the IDM, with Professor Gordon Brown (Adjunct Member of the IDM & Professor of Immunology, University of Aberdeen, UK) and A/Professor Muazzam Jacobs (Member of the IDM and in the Division of Immunology, UCT) as her hosts. A previous Carnegie Corporation Postdoctoral Fellow in the IDM, her research is currently funded by CIDRI and focuses on the innate immune response in tuberculosis and opportunistic fungal infections.
PLoS Pathogens (2015) 11(1):e1004636
'The M3 muscarinic receptor is required for optimal adaptive immunity to helminth & bacterial infection'
M Darby, C Schnoeller, A Vira, F Culley, S Bobat, E Logan, F Kirstein, J Wess, A Cunningham, F Brombacher, M Selkirk, W Horsnell. (IDM colleagues)
Dr William Horsnell, an Associate Member of the IDM and in the Division of Immunology, joined UCT twelve years ago from the UK. He has a PhD from the University of London, and was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Liverpool. His research interests include host immunity to helminths and how this affects immune responses to unrelated diseases; and the role of neurotransmitters in immune regulation. His principal sources of funding are the National Research Foundation, Royal Society, Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the World University Network.
Eurosurveillance (2015) 20(12):pii=21073; and highlighted by The Guardian, UK.
'Evaluation of a point-of-care blood test for identification of Ebola virus disease at Ebola holding units, Western Area, Sierra Leone, January to February 2015'
Walker NF et al.
The authors evaluated the accuracy of a rapid diagnostic test for Ebola compared with the usual test, in an operational setting.
Lack of laboratory diagnostic capacity has led to diagnostic delays in the current West African EVD outbreak of 2014 and 2015, compromising outbreak control. The authors evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the EVD bedside rapid diagnostic antigen test (RDT) developed by the United Kingdom's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, compared with Ebola virus RT-PCR, in an operational setting, Sierra Leone. Results were positive. If approved by health authorities, the kit will transform the admissions process with its capacity to deliver results within 20 minutes compared to the usual 24 hours.
Dr. Naomi Walker is appointed as an Honorary Research Associate in CIDRI until 2017, and is the recipient of a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship. She is currently an Infectious Diseases Physician in training, completing a PhD with Professor Robert Wilkinson (Director of CIDRI, UCT supervisor) and with Dr. Paul Elkington, Imperial College London (co-supervisor).