Therapeutics/Drugs

Grow-your-own bacterial defenders against waterborne microbial diseases. Prof. David McMillen and his team will explore creating engineered bacteria to reside in the gut, sense harmful invaders, and respond by producing viruses to target and kill the disease organisms (typhoid and cholera are examples of microbial targets).

Over 6 000 diseases lack adequate treatments. In Africa, for example, malaria kills a child every minute. We re-purpose approved drugs for neglected diseases, since most drugs have multiple medical effects (such as the use of aspirin for heart disease as well as headaches). Repurposing reduces development time and cost, and makes treatments accessible to the developing world. Follow Chematria on Twitter @Chematria"

Cryptococcal meningitis has emerged as a frequent and deadly infection in AIDS patients. High mortality is compounded by the high cost, toxicity, and limited repertoire of available antifungals. Researchers at the Infectious Diseases Institute in Kampala, Uganda, will determine if adding the antidepressant sertraline to standard therapy will result in better treatment of cryptococcal meningitis.

Considerable efforts are being made to stabilize the production of natural Artemisinin. Although progress is being made, there are still significant concerns about availability and high costs. Two additional initiatives are being developed to bring further stability to the ACT supply chain: Semi-synthetic Artemisinin produced from microbially sourced Artemisinic acid, a precursor to Artemisinin. This initiative was originally funded by the Gates Foundation. Commercialization has been taken up by Sanofi under the guidance of the WHO.

The project aims at producing an affordable, accessible and efficacious phytomedicine that can be dispensed as is, with the ultimate goal of contributing to control of malaria especially in Sub Saharan Africa.

Malaria affects half of the world's population. To address this problem, a web-based in silico database of Kenyan natural products will be developed for virtual screening against the malaria parasite. The hits from the virtual screen will then be synthesized and optimized for maximum antimalarial activity. The study will contribute novel templates for the discovery of antimalarial drugs.

Problem: Prompt access to effective antimalarials is the cornerstone for eliminating malaria deaths. Yet, access to effective antimalarials in rural remote areas, where malaria burden is highest, is poor. Implication: Through scaling up of ADDOs, Tanzania can take advantage of the mushrooming motorcycle transport business to ensure that antimalarials reach the neediest; thus attaining the dream ‘Tanzania without malaria deaths is possible’.

Malaria is one of the biggest infectious killers globally and drug resistance is a major reason why. Our project seeks to circumvent drug resistance by targeting a molecular chaperone called Heat Shock Protein 90, the master regulator of the parasite stress response. Follow University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine on Twitter @uofcmedicine"

This project aims to rescue a child with cerebral malaria from death or long-term cognitive impairment, by protecting their brain. The idea is to use PPARg agonists, a type of anti-diabetic drug, to treat cerebral malaria. PPARg agonists have neuro-protective and neuro-regenerative properties, that may help to reduce and repair malaria-caused brain injury

Almost one in six people are HIV-positive in Njombe - a region with Tanzania's most uninformed population when it comes to the disease, according to surveys, and the country's highest rate of infection, now increasing among young adults. The area has no formal HIV education program and many children are orphans lacking parental guidance. This project will expand a pilot-tested, site-crafted, formally evaluated HIV/AIDS youth peer health educator program into primary schools in HIV-ravaged rural Tanzania, to empower youth in making healthy decisions.