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International Program Unites Scientists in Fight Against Infectious Diseases
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Henrietta Awobode
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For the past three months, Nigerian scientist Henrietta Awobode has spent her days gaining a whole new perspective on diseases that pose serious threats to her country’s people. Awobobe is an Ellison Visiting Scholar in the MBL’s Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution. She is one of four African scholars who have recently traveled to the United States to work alongside scientists in the Bay Paul Center’s Global Infectious Diseases (GID) Laboratory. The goal of the Ellison program, which brings ten scientists from around the world to the Bay Paul Center annually, is to further the world’s understanding of infectious diseases, which are responsible for one third of all human deaths each year.
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Ellison Scholars from left to right: Emmanuel Ogbadoyi of Nigeria, Gustave Simo of Cameroon, and Raphael Isopehki of South Africa.
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The Ellison program provides scientists like Awobobe access to the Bay Paul Center’s cutting-edge facilities and expertise in using molecular biology, molecular evolution, biochemistry, genetics, and bioinformatics—important tools for the study of parasites and other infectious diseases. The program is open to scientists from both developed and under-developed countries, and is funded by The Ellison Medical Foundation of Bethesda, Maryland.
“Collaborations with researchers from countries where infectious diseases are important public health problems is key to developing effective control measures,” says GID program director, Dr. Stephen Hajduk. “In addition to learning new research techniques in our laboratory, the visiting scholars share their first-hand knowledge of the impact of infectious diseases in their home countries. Together we are developing strategies for addressing this increasing worldwide problem.”
One important pathogen that is captivating GID and visiting scientists is the ribbon-shaped African trypanosome. This parasite causes human sleeping sickness, a fatal disease that has reemerged as a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The GID program is also committed to learning more about other potentially harmful microorganisms, such as Giardia and malaria.
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