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Africa Travelogue
Our scientists spend much of their time traveling the world. We're often asked what they see and learn during their trips. Founder Ken Stuart recently went to Africa on a mission to form new partnerships and collaborations, gain insights into what peers are doing in the field, and share scientific knowledge. Here, Ken shares highlights from his travelogue. What he saw during his travels reminds him of the importance of Seattle BioMed's mission.
- Dec 5: Arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to begin my travels.
- Dec 7: Transferred to Bagamoyo, Tanzania, and visited the Ifakara Health Institute. I met with collaborators on malaria vaccine research and was inspired to hear about local efforts to discover affordable solutions to Africa's leading public health problems. I was impressed with the laboratories that they have built and continue to build - a massive improvement from my visit there just a couple of years ago. This will help with our collaboration for malaria vaccine development.
- Dec 8, 9: Travelled to Kampala, Uganda, to establish collaborations with researchers at Makerere University. Also visited colleagues from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who are working on virally-induced cancers. This multi-purpose visit included arranging samples from malaria patients who are in a study run by colleagues from the University of Washington and visiting a Walter Reed lab capable of immune sample processing. I also re-established contact with a malaria researcher who we had brought to Seattle BioMed several years ago. In addition, I visited trypanosome and leishmania researchers including Dr. Matovu, who is on the faculty of Makerere University, and a scientist who spent a summer in my lab.
- Dec 9: The visit to the hospital ward in Kampala reminded me why the research we're conducting half way around the world at Seattle BioMed is so important. As a scientist, I look at the face of disease through the lens of the microscope, searching for clues that will shed light on new solutions. And yet, here I saw the face of disease in the young children who are suffering the heartbreaking burden of infectious diseases. These children urgently need solutions; with the fruits of Seattle BioMed's infectious disease research, I'm hopeful we will soon deliver.
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Seattle-India Workshop
 In February, we'll kick off the Seattle-India Joint Research Training Program in India. The annual workshop provides Indian Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scientists with advanced research opportunities and training on intracellular pathogens and the diseases they cause; research on malaria, leishmaniasis, and tuberculosis will be emphasized. Seattle BioMed scientists, with collaborators in India, are hosting an "Advanced Technologies and Research Proposal Development" workshop on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in New Delhi.This workshop entails bioinformatics training, research proposal/project development, round-table discussions on research ethics and laboratory management, and lectures on current research and technologies. More on our international training programs. |
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Closer to an HIV Vaccine
 New research findings are giving scientists a better understanding of how the immune system interacts with HIV. "We've found that people who develop broadly-reactive neutralizing antibodies tend to have a healthier immune system that differs from others who don't develop those antibodies," explained Seattle BioMed's Leo Stamatatos. These antibodies target only a few regions of HIV, which is good from the standpoint of vaccine development. "It gives us less to target," he said. Press release. |
