Supported Activities 2007-2008
2008
2008 Introductory Course in Immunology in Sudan College of Science & Technology, Al-Neelain University, Khartoum, Sudan, January 5 - 10, 2008
(sponsored by FAIS and IUIS)
This course was advertised through Sudan, by Mr Amre O.Nasr and a website was set up (http:// immunology.sudanassociation.se). 25 applicants were selected on the basis of their involvement in Immunology.
The course director was Dr Samia M.K. Badr. They were 5 researchers, 6 University Lecturers, 10 MSc students, 3 PhD students and one teaching assistant. They came from Dongla University (North Sudan), Elgazera University (Central Sudan), Islamic University, Elneel University, Technical University, Elneelain University, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Veterinary Research Centre, Industry Research Centre and The Central Medical Laboratory.
A copy of the Kuby book of Immunology was given to the facilitator 6 weeks ahead and to all participants on the first day of the meeting. Handouts of lectures were also given to the students.
The intent of the course was to teach the basics of Immunology, in terms of innate and acquired immunity. The induction of the immune response at the organ, cellular and molecular level was discussed. The first 3 days of the course introduced the basic principles of Immunology to students with a general biology background. The second part of the course was somewhat more advanced and required prior knowledge of basic principles.
At the closing ceremony, the Dean promised that the college would host a newly formed Society of Immunology and their future meetings. This was a very important event in Sudan and perhaps the first such course in Immunology. It was instrumental in the creation of the Sudanese Immunological Society.
International Vaccinology Course, International Workshop on Adjuvants and Parasite Vaccines 2008 in Varadero, Cuba, 13 to 18th April, 2008
(organized by Dr Oliver Perez, of the Cuban Society for Immunology)
This course was jointly organized with the Latin American Association of Immunology (ALAI) and sponsored by the Cuban Society for Immunology, ALAI and IUIS.
The course focused on Induction and Mediators of Immune Response, IgA and Mucosal Immunity, Mucosal Vaccines, Adjuvants as essential components of formulations, Current Vaccines, Perspectives in Vaccine Development, Strategy for P. vivax vaccine development in Cali, Columbia, and the importance of Good Laboratory Practices in Preclinical Studies.
Nine investigators well known in the field of Adjuvants and Vaccines were teaching in this course. There was a total of 36 students: 21 from Cuba, 3 from Italy, 3 from UK, 2 from Mexico, and 1 each from Sweden, France, Austria, Lybia, Chile, Venezuela and Brazil. A truly international array of students!
The course was of a high scientific level and promoted the interchange and scientific discussions between students and professors, including a poster session and participation in the workshop itself.
Advanced WHO/TDR Refresher Course on Immunology, Vaccinology and Biotechnology Applied to Infectious Diseases, La Paz, Bolivia, 19-30 May 2008
Organized with the collaboration and support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation [SDC], the Instituto de Servicios de Laboratorio de Diagnóstico e Investigación en Salud (SELADIS), Facultad de Cs. Famacéuticas y Bioquímicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Institut de Recherche et de Développement [IRD] and IUIS.
This 12th Refresher Course was organized in close collaboration between Dr Pascal Launois of WHO and three participants, Drs K. Terrazas Aranda, J. Calla and S. Zambrana Santander from SELADIS in La Paz, who had previously participated in a “core” course held in Lausanne. Their dedication and dynamism during the core course in Lausanne, made them the perfect co-organizers of this course.
There were a total of 21 participants. 13 had previously attended a course in Lausanne and were selected on the basis of their field of interest, excellence and the potential impact of the candidate on its institution strengthening after attending the course. The candidate’s motivation was evaluated by requesting a letter outlining his/her scientific work. In addition, there were 8 participants from Bolivia who had not previously participated in a core course in Lausanne.
Because of the high incidence of tuberculosis in Bolivia, the first day of the course focused on this topic. Basic lectures on Innate immunity, Cytokines, Th1/Th2/Th17 cells, T regulatory cells were also included. The other diseases covered by the course revealed the major public health priorities in the Latin American countries. The diseases were: Leishmaniasis, Malaria, Chagas, HIV and diarrhoeal diseases.
Lectures on quality management in research and on the use of a new platform of resources for scientists from developing countries, called TropIKA, a web site developed by the WHO Special Programme for Research in Tropical Diseases (TDR) were included in the program. A practical session (2 days) was included that focused on measuring immune responses to infectious agents, using intracellular detection of cytokines by FACS analysis. Particular attention was given to the selection of the immunological techniques performed by participants taking into account the feasibility aspects and the limited means available in developing countries.
A two-hour evaluation session of the course was held to openly discuss the results of the previously distributed questionnaire. All the participants were very enthusiastic about the quality of the course and its teaching format. They had learned new teaching methodologies that could be incorporated in their future teaching. Access to information on basic knowledge of immunology and recent technologies used in the fight against infectious diseases is still limited in developing countries. All participants acknowledged that the course was above their expectations and underscored the importance of such refresher courses.
AAI-IUIS Joint support for 6 students attending the AAI summer courses
Dr Olivera Finn was very instrumental in setting up this new initiative. Discussions between the Education committees of AAI and IUIS led to the proposal of co-funding 6 graduate students to attend the AAI Immunology Courses. AAI agreed to pay for registration and accommodation while IUIS would give travel awards of $2,000 US to each of the participants.
Our committee did the selection of candidates and passed on the information to Michele Hogan, from the AAI office. Potential candidates were identified and 3 were selected to attend the Introductory Course and 2 for the Advanced Course.
All students found the experience most rewarding stimulating their interest in Immunology and their confidence. Here are comments about and by the students who attended:
AAI Introductory Course: (June 20-26, 2008; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia)
Sheron Dzoro from Zimbabwe
Sheron is 23 years old and obtained an Honours Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science Degree in July 2007, at the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences.She is now a Medical Laboratory Scientist, who has been rotating in various laboratories to become familiar with HIV and serology, allergy and autoimmune screens, histopathology, bacteriology. She is interested in a career in Immunology and has been inspired by her mentor Dr Elopy Nimele Sibanda, Clinical Immunologist.
She hopes to build a research-oriented career in Clinical Immunology and Allergology. However, the local College of Health Sciences is currently not offering post-graduate training in Immunology and MSc are more readily available in Microbiology and Clinical Chemistry. The AAI Immunology course was therefore a golden opportunity to enhance her knowledge and enable her to think of research questions suitable for the African settings.
She had an amazing time at the AAI course, which she found intense and of overwhelming depth. But she learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed it. She is now determined to pursue post-graduate studies in Clinical Immunology and is looking for a PhD Program. Read here her inspiring testimony.
Nicholas Kiulia from Kenya
Nicholas is currently working as a Medical Laboratory Technologist at the Institute of Primate Research in Kenya and trained at the Kenya Polytechnic University College in Nairobi.He is also a research student, primarily working on the molecular characterization of selected enteric viruses in human and environmental samples from Kenya, on a collaborative project at the University of Pretoria. His future plans are to carry out cutting-edge biomedical research to contribute significantly towards meeting the health requirements, by testing and disseminating innovations and translating the research findings into action. This is one of the set priorities for sustainable development in response to emerging threats over changing times (e.g. Ebola, Avian Flu, Rotavirus and other emerging infectious pathogens). Read here how he thanked IUIS.
Andrea Nora Motter from Argentina
Andrea is a PhD student at the Instituto de Oncología Angel H. Roffo, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her thesis is on: “The inflammatory tumour microenvironment and immune system as regulators of breast cancer development in a murine hormone-dependent model”. She previously worked as a technician for several years and then completed an MSc in 2005. Read here what she wrote about this opportunity.
AAI Advanced Course: (July 19-24, The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis)
Camila Leindecker Stumm from Brazil
Camila is a PhD student at the Department of Immunology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she investigates the role of lipid mediators on the airway remodeling in acute and chronic models of lung allergic inflammation.Her MSc thesis was in cell development during pregnancy and she then decided to do a Doctorate in immunology because it was a very exciting discipline with a wide range of possibilities to build a career. Although she has had no problems following the graduate courses in Immunology in Brazil, she felt that attending the AAI Advanced Immunology Course, because of the outstanding quality of the Faculty, would provide her with a much deeper and broader understanding of all aspects of Immunology and benefit not only her graduate work but also the development of her career. Read here what she wrote after the Course.
Sasha Vasilev from Serbia
Sasha is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), and has an MSc in Veterinary Science.He is currently a Research Associate in the Department for Immunology and Immunoparasitology at the Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy – (INEP), University of Belgrade, Republic of Serbia. He is also a team member in a National project: "Cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune response and immune-regulation in parasitized host" (Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection, Republic of Serbia, 2006-2010). He actively participates in investigations of fundamental aspects of immune response (follow up studies of particular components of innate and/or adaptive immunity) to T.spiralis. Focus of interest – the role of T.spiralis in trigerring pro- and anti-apoptotsis mechanisms in the cells of infected host. He also participates in basic and applied research in immunopharmacology, immunology, immunoparasitology, biotechnology. He is a member of the Immunological Society of Serbia – ISS. Read here what he wrote after the Course.
2007
Travel Awards for trainees to attend the International Immunology Congress in Rio de Janeiro, August 21st -25th, 2007
(sponsored by the Latin American Association of Immunology, the Brazilian Society for Immunology and IUIS)
The 13th International Congress of Immunology is sponsored by IUIS, the Latin American Association of Immunology (ALAI), and the Brazilian Society for Immunology (SBI).
Financial support (travel grants) was requested to ensure funding incentives for about 320 students and young researchers of developing countries from different regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, thus, to enable them to join the Congress and exchange knowledge with the scientific immunology staff from all over the world.
Those competing for Young Scientist Travel Grant awards had to be selected for oral presentation, less than 40 years old and preference was given to those from countries in development or non-OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Applicants had to submit a one paragraph stating why they should receive the travel grant and a brief Curriculum vitae.
Our funding contributed to several students attending the International Congress and enjoying the fabulous city of Rio. It was an excellent meeting for students of the world to interact and discuss science and other topics.
The 8th John Humphrey Advanced Programme in Immunology in Moscow, Sept 8-14th, 2007
(organized by Dr Robert Bomford for the British Society of Immunology and the Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry. Theme: “Immunology and Viral Infection”)
Co-sponsored by IUIS, The European Federation of Immunological Societies/ European Journal of Immunology (EFIS/EJI), The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), The Russian Federation for Basic Research (RFBS), The Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences,The British Council (BC),The British Society for Immunology (BSI).
The purpose of these meetings is to provide advanced training to young immunologists principally from Russia and the other CIS countries. The meeting was organized by Dr R Bomford of the UK, and by Prof. V. Nesmeyanov of Russia, who unfortunately died on July 13th, 2007. His dedicated work on behalf of the John Humphrey programs since their inception contributed greatly to their success. The organisation of the meeting was taken over by Prof. A. Gabibov and colleagues from the Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and a successful meeting was held and dedicated to the memory of Prof. Nesmeyanov.
The international faculty was from Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Russia, UK and USA and the students were postgraduate, under 35 years of age and had to submit an abstract in English of sufficient quality and relevance for the meeting. The abstracts were divided into short oral communications in the workshops and posters. 63/82 applicants were accepted. They were from Belarus (13), Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Ukraine (1 each) and Russia: Moscow (19), Novosibirsk (7) and St Petersburg (12). Eight students from the United Kingdom also participated. Additional students from Moscow attended some of the sessions. The conference achieved its objective of bringing together young scientists from 7 different nations who would probably not otherwise have had the opportunity to meet.
The lectures began at basic level and progressed to a masterly overview of the current position in T cell biology and viral immunology (T cell biology, LCMV and hepatitis B and C, HIV and viral CTL, influenza and Herpes virus). As an innovation, the meeting brought together Russian and Western faculty members already in contact and collaborating in the fields of influenza (M Matrosovitch, Marburg and N Bovin, Moscow) and herpes-viruses (A Rickinson, Birmingham and V Gurtsevitch, Moscow). There was also a Russian speaker in the HIV session (A Kozlov, St Petersburg).
There were good relevant short oral presentations from the students in the workshops with a uniformly high standard of presentation. This was a considerable achievement, especially for the non-UK students with a first experience at giving a talk in English. The posters were mostly clear and comprehensible, and their scientific quality ranged from excellent to somewhat pedestrian. The poster sessions were well attended, and fulfilled their function in establishing personal contact between the students and faculty.
A scientific report of the meeting has been written by Laura Mackay and Abhishek Das, two of the participating UK students, and will be published in Immunology News, the journal of the British Society for Immunology.
The 3rd Mediterranean Course of Immunology in Marrakech, Morocco, October 26-30 2007
The course was organized and/or sponsored by the French Society of Immunology (FSI), the Pasteur Institutes of Maroc, Paris, Tunis and Casablanca, the Faculty of Science and Technology of Marrakech (FSTM), Faculty of Science of Tunis, The Algerian Society of Immunology (ASI) and IUIS. It was additionally sponsored by iBio Experts, Pfizer Maroc and Applied Genome, France and Maroc.
Theme of the course: “De l’immunologie fondamentale à l’immunologie infectieuse”.
There were 90 participating students including 74 from Maroc, 14 from Tunisia and 2 from Algeria. There were 8 teachers, 2 sponsors, and in addition 5 guests for a round table discussion. There were 19 hours of lectures on basic and anti-infectious immunology, 2 technical workshops on quantitative PCR, and 4 hours of presentation and technical workshop by the sponsors.
Posters by the participants were displayed throughout the meeting and there was an official session as well as 6 short oral presentations by selected students. A round table discussion on the objectives of these courses led to the conclusions that sharing knowledge and being able to present one’s research and interact directly with professors and colleagues were a critical component of the course.
The theoretical knowledge acquired and familiarization with methods of presentation of data are essential for students interested in pursuing graduate work in France or in North African countries. It was also proposed to create an Immunology Network for French speaking countries and to continue the Mediterranean courses in subsequent years.
It is crucial that Infectious Diseases be a dominant theme of future meetings to respond to the needs of African countries. The Société Marocaine d’Immunologie (SMI) was recently created (19/11/2007) and should be instrumental in the organization of future courses.
The 12th International Course for Clinical Immunology of Infectious Diseases (ICCI) at the Suez Canal University in Egypt, October 29th-December 6th, 2007
(organized by Dr Ahmed El-Gohary, President for Research and Post-Graduate Studies, Suez Canal University and President of FAIS)
The 6-week course was sponsored by the Japanese Government and by IUIS.
This course is intended mostly to benefit sub-Sahara participants, who are working in clinical immunology laboratories and trying to do graduate work on a part time basis. Our support covers the cost of two additional students to attend the course, this year from Sudan and Yemen.
Students are provided with current views in Immunology, particularly those relevant to Africa; hands-on practical sessions are included. All lecturers commented on a very interactive and amazing group of participants.
Every year, the course has a different flavor. This year was the first to combine with the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) school in Egypt and provide a Neuro-immunology course for 3 days. International speakers were from Italy, Sweden, South Africa, Kenya, and France. In addition, 5 more participants from different parts of Africa and several from Egypt were invited by IBRO to join the ICCI for those 3 days.
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