Hot Topics & News Tips: Friday, September 29, 2006

Newswise — Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) international research scholars—some of the world's leading biomedical researchers from outside the United States—will meet at HHMI's new Janelia Farm Research Campus in northern Virginia September 26-29. 2006.

All research is embargoed until the date and time of presentation.

Winning the War Against Malaria — TreatmentsSumalee KamchonwongpaisanPresentation: 8:50 a.m., Friday, Sept. 29

Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, infects 300 to 500 million people annually and kills up to 3 million, most of them children. Thai HHMI international research scholar Sumalee Kamchonwongpaisan studies the molecular targets of two new antimalarial drugs: derivatives of artemisinin—one of the most effective antimalarial drugs—and antifolate drugs that interfere with synthesis of DNA and other essential components of the malaria parasite. Her findings could lead to the development of more effective strategies to contain this global threat. She is a researcher at the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Pathumthani, Thailand. In 2003, she received the Taguchi Prize for outstanding research achievements by a young scientist in the field of biotechnology.

Winning the War Against Malaria — VaccinesBrendan Crabb, AustraliaPresentation: 10:10 a.m., Friday, Sept. 29

Surface proteins from the malaria parasite are promising candidates for use in a malaria vaccine because they may help generate a robust immune response. HHMI international research scholar Brendan Crabb, a chief of laboratory at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, in Melbourne, Australia, has identified a number of previously unrecognized surface proteins that are displayed by the parasite when it invades red blood cells. These proteins may play an important role in the parasite's movement from host cells and its invasion of red blood cells.

Bugs, Drugs, and Microarrays — Joseph DeRisi, USA Keynote address: noon, Friday, Sept. 29

As a graduate student, Joseph DeRisi, an HHMI investigator at the University of California, San Francisco, helped invent and pioneer the use of DNA microarray technology. As an established researcher, he now moves readily among disciplines, shares what he knows as widely as possible, and dives fearlessly into new scientific challenges. He uses that same approach to study the activity of the full range of malaria genes and emerging viral diseases, including a new retrovirus in humans that is closely related to a cancer-causing virus found in mice. At the HHMI international research scholars meeting, DeRisi will discuss his accelerated malaria drug discovery program and the viral diagnostic and virus discovery system he has developed. This system has helped DeRisi and his colleagues identify a novel viral pathogen that may be implicated in prostate cancer.

Starving Flesh-eating Bacteria — Emanuel Hanski, IsraelPresentation: 4:35 pm, Friday, Sept. 29

Streptococcus A causes necrotizing fasciitis, a life-threatening condition commonly called the flesh-eating bacteria infection. Emanuel Hanski, an HHMI international research scholar from Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, Israel, has identified a protein from the Strep A bacteria that prevents the cells of the immune system from fighting the infection in the skin. Hanski is working on a new treatment strategy for this dangerous infection that involves taking the bacterial protein out of action by reducing the production of a key enzyme, SpcC, either by finding an inhibitor of the enzyme or by finding a way to boost production of another protein called SilCR that counters its activity.

Hanski is publishing a paper on this approach in the October 4, 2006, issue of EMBO Journal.

Love Songs of the Sand Fly Siblings — Alexandre Peixoto, BrazilPresentation: 5:25 pm Friday, Sept. 29

In Central and South America, the tiny, blood-sucking sand fly spreads a parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis, a disease that is often fatal if untreated. Brazilian HHMI international research scholar Alexandre Peixoto studies the genetics of behavior in these flies. He has found that sand fly males produce a love song during copulation and that different populations have very distinct songs that are influenced by the expression of specific genes. This indicates that the main vector of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil is in fact four or more sibling species of sand fly, a result confirmed by analysis of love-song genes. Because sibling species often differ in their potential for spreading disease, these findings could have important implications for leishmaniasis control. Peixoto is a researcher in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro.

For more information on the HHMI International Research Scholars Meeting,please see http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/523627/ .