World's first international research centre for tackling fungal infections opens in the IDM
From left: Neil Gow (AFG), Adilia Warris (AFG), Gordon Brown (AFG), Claire Hoving (IDM), Al Brown (AFG)
The world’s first international research centre for tackling fungal infections has been established in South Africa by the University of Aberdeen’s internationally recognised Aberdeen Fungal Group (AFG) in conjunction with the University of Cape Town (UCT). The £600,000 unit is called the AFGrica Unit and is based in the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM).
The majority of global deaths to fungi (1.6 million people, more than those attributed to malaria) occur in Africa. Candida, Aspergillus, Pneumocystis and Cryptococcus spp. are the most common cause of serious disease in humans. Infections primarily occur in immunocompromised patients such as those undergoing chemotherapy or infected with HIV. In 2008, there were 1 million cases of cryptococcal meningitis in patients with HIV/AIDS. In sub-Saharan Africa, around 50% of people diagnosed with invasive fungal infections die as a result of the infection.
Professor Gordon Brown from the AFG and Adjunct Member of the IDM is to lead the setup of the Unit, assisted by colleague Dr Claire Hoving, Associate Member of the IDM and of the Division of Immunology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences. “The AFGrica Unit’s establishment will also enhance on-going research on cryptococcal meningitis led by Professor Graeme Meintjes [Member of the IDM and of the Department of Medicine] and other fungal disease research at UCT”.
In addition, the Unit builds on an existing Wellcome Trust-funded Strategic Award led by the University of Aberdeen, where PhD students from low and middle-income nations (including Africa) are trained in Aberdeen and other medical mycology Centres in the UK. Upon obtaining their degrees, these students then return home with their new skills to help address critical fungal research and training needs in their own countries.
The official opening of the Unit in August 2017, in Cape Town, was attended by Professor John Paterson, Vice Principal of the University of Aberdeen, and other senior leaders from the University and UCT, as well as other distinguished guests. Professor Valerie Mizrahi, IDM Director, said “The establishment of AFGrica is an important milestone in the history of the IDM”.
As well as interviews with Professor Gordon on local radio and television, the establishment of the AFGrica Unit was the basis of an editorial in Nature Microbiology (25 July 2017, Vol 2, 17120. ‘Stop neglecting fungi’).
