Newswise — Take a breath. In that brief moment, a child in sub-Sahara Africa has died from malaria; a women in Uganda succumbed to Hepatitis B; a new superbug emerged and now threatens the world’s already strained antibiotic supply.
Through the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR) at McMaster University, 38 investigators are working to make these threats a thing of the past.
“Infectious diseases are global in scope and our researchers are committed to undertaking research that has international impact and benefit,” says scientific director, Gerry Wright, who leads a multidisciplinary team of investigators from all sides of campus as well as a talented pool of 400 trainees – all of whom conduct research that impacts the world’s health. “Diseases that disproportionately impact the developing world are areas where the expertise and experience of the IIDR can, and does, have impact.”
One of the institute’s members, Tim O’Shea, who conducts clinical work and medical education in Uganda, stresses the importance of international collaboration. “Because resources are short, there are many unanswered questions in the area of tropical medicine, so from an intellectual point of view it is extremely stimulating,” he says.
In Uganda, he cites, there is a lot of untapped potential in terms of medical expertise. “What is lacking really is resources; trying to serve as a facilitator for the talented practitioners that I work with ends up being very rewarding,” he says.
IIDR member Mark Loeb, from the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, also conducts international fieldwork that has an impact. Through a $10-million National Institutes of Health grant, Loeb is conducting a large-scale international study that is studying genetic markers associated with severe cases of Dengue disease throughout South America and Asia. Dengue is a potentially lethal mosquito-borne disease that is endemic in more than 100 countries.
"We will get a blood sample from people who have been infected with dengue and compare them to milder cases, looking for genetic variants - such as vitamin D receptors - which have been previously described as important factors," said Loeb.
IIDR member Tim Gilberger, an associate member of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, also has global connections. While his work on the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis of malaria parasite pathogens is centered mostly in Africa, he collaborates with researchers from Germany, India, Singapore, and the US to better understand the disease that claims one million people annually. His drug discovery platform is vital to finding leads for new anti-malaria drugs.
Not only does the IIDR benefit its researchers but also its collaborators. Obiora Ejim, for example, a professor of chemical pathology at Enugu State University of Science and Technology in Nigeria, has collaborated with the IIDR since 2007 when he began providing soil samples for Xiaodong Wang, a technician in Wright’s lab. Ejim has also provided plant samples used to treat malaria and most recently has provided 10 samples taken from human surgical wounds, which are resistant to all available antibiotics, and which he obtained from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology teaching hospital.
“We don’t have the facilities or the man-power in Nigeria to be able to conduct the type of research that is done at McMaster,” he says. “At the IIDR, we have the power to zoom in and concentrate on ideas.”
The IIDR’s new Centre for Microbial Chemical Biology also supports international collaborations. Its five labs serve researchers locally, nationally and internationally and provides a focal point for transdisciplinary research, bridging life and physical sciences. In fact, in 2010, the labs supported interactions with Mount Sinai’s Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the University of Edinburgh.
“Since its establishment in 2007, the institute has made a significant impact in the way infectious diseases are tackled,” says Wright. “The advent of rapid and affordable international travel now means that we are truly a global village when it comes to infectious diseases. Though successful collaborations, we will continue to make an international impact on a grand scale.”
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