|
November 6, 2009
Research gains interest
Canada-Israel project gets Kenyans onboard.
RHONDA SPIVAK
Simon W. Nabukwesi, high commissioner of Kenya in Ottawa, says his government is interested in learning more about the collaborative research on HIV/AIDS and influenzas (including H1N1, commonly referred to as "swine flu") that is being carried out by scientists in Manitoba and Jerusalem.
Last month, the province of Manitoba announced that it was committing $100,000 per year for three years towards this research, a project which was initiated by Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University (CFHU). The research will take place under the rubric of the newly founded Global Research Exchange Program (GREP).
The province's commitment means that the GREP now has raised $1.1 million dollars. This sum includes funds committed by the University of Manitoba and Hebrew University, as well as a $100,00 grant from the Winnipeg Foundation. It also includes the $300,000 raised by CFHU's gala dinner in Winnipeg, held in May 2008, which honored Dr. Frank Plummer. CFHU also received the support of the International Centre for Infectious Diseases.
Plummer, who currently serves as director general of the Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control in Ottawa, has been an advisor to the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, and a consultant to the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the governments of Kenya, India and Lesotho.
Sheryl Rosenberg, president of the Winnipeg chapter of CFHU, said the fact that the fund has attracted these large donations is a "fitting tribute to Dr. Plummer's dedication in the pursuit of vaccines to fight infectious diseases worldwide."
Plummer's scientific team at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory at the University of Manitoba is collaborating with Israeli researcher Dr. Ofer Mandelboim's team at Hebrew University's Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada. The fund will enable scientists to travel between Winnipeg and Jerusalem to pursue their joint research.
Following the funding announcement Plummer admitted, "I never would have thought when I was honored ... at the gala dinner ... it would have led to securing over a million dollars for research into infectious diseases."
"We know Dr. Plummer very well because he lived in Kenya for 17 years conducting research on AIDS," Nabukwesi told the Independent. "We are very interested in his research with Hebrew University. A delegation from the Kenyan government is planning to go to Israel shortly. We don't just want the ties to be between scientists, but we want them to be from state to state."
Nabukwesi, who was in Winnipeg with Dr. Jotham Micheni, chief executive officer of Kenyatta National Hospital, and Prof. James Ole Kiyiapi, permanent secretary of health for Kenya, said, "there are potential research exchange and training opportunities between Kenya and Israel," which should be explored. He added, "While in Israel, I intend to look at how the Israeli health-care system works to see what may be applicable to Kenya."
Dr. Adrienne Meyers, who works with Plummer and is the senior research coordinator for the collaboration, has already visited with Mandelboim's team in Jerusalem this past summer.
She told the Independent, "Dr. Mandelboim's team has expertise in a branch of immunology dealing with natural killer cells [NK cells], which defend against viruses and bacteria. The expertise of Dr. Mandelboim's laboratory is a very good match with the expertise of Dr. Plummer's team, which has extensive experience with HIV/AIDS.... The merging of the two teams makes a lot of sense scientifically, and will aid in filling important gaps in our knowledge base of how specific areas of the immune system function in the context of HIV infection."
According to Meyers, the two teams have already selected four specific projects. The first project, currently in progress, deals with NK cells and host genetics. The second project will examine how NK cells recognize the HIV virus. The third project will consider how NK cells interact with other components of the immune system in mediating resistance to HIV infection. The fourth project will research the role of NK cells during influenza infection, including H1N1.
"We want to see if NK cells help fight against the swine flu infection as they do against other viruses," said Meyers.
Jim Rondeau, Manitoba's minister of science, technology, energy and mines, said his province was pleased to be supporting "such brilliant minds," through its Science and Technology International Collaboration Fund. "We look forward to seeing the fruition of this great collaboration," he added.
The Winnipeg Foundation and CFHU are now working together to secure ongoing funding for the research collaboration.
Rhonda Spivak is a freelance writer living in Winnipeg. A version of this article was originally published in the Canadian Jewish News, cjnews.com.
^TOP
|
