News

Student in David Cavanagh lab awarded by Anglo-Thai Society

Kelwalin Dhanasarnsombut, PhD Student in David Cavanagh's lab, has been awarded with Educational Award for Excellence by the Anglo-Thai Society.

The awards scheme has been launched in 2005. The purpose of the awards is to acknowledge the achievement of excellence in the work of Thai postgraduate students carrying out research in British universities.

Neglected Diseases Research Symposium

We are pleased to announce that Neglected Diseases Research Symposium, hosted by CIIE, will take place on Wednesday, 7th November at The Hub on Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

CIIE is seeking to combat infectious disease through an exciting approach that combines molecular analyses with evolutionary, immunological, epidemiological, mathematical modelling and theoretical approaches. A key ambition for the Centre is to ensure that we develop and translate fundamental research discoveries into tangible new vaccines, drugs and treatment regimens to eradicate neglected diseases.

CIIE hosts the inaugural Wellcome Trust Joint Centres Scottish excellence meeting: ‘Combatting Infectious Disease’

On 27th September 2012 CIIE hosted a one-day meeting at the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.

The aim of the meeting was to bring together scientists from the major Wellcome Trust funded Centres of research into infectious disease in Scotland.

CIIE members on BioPod

CIIE members are featured in the latest BioPod podcast. BioPOD is the official podcast of the School of Biological Sciences, produced and presented by enthusiastic student volunteers.
 
In October podcast Dr. Alex Rowe talks about the cellular processes involved in severe malaria and Prof. Mark Blaxter and Dr. John Davey discuss how butterflies avoid being eaten by predators.

Parasite study suggests need for rethink on malaria treatments

Fresh discoveries about how the malaria parasite responds to drugs could help inform strategies for treating infection.

Scientists have shown that severe strains of the parasite, which cause the most harmful malarial infections, are harder to kill with treatment than less harmful strains.

The research suggests that drugs may unintentionally encourage more harmful strains to evolve because the treatments are more effective at killing milder strains of the disease.

Findings could keep allergies in check

Fresh insight into infection could improve scientists’ understanding of allergies and inform new treatments.

Edinburgh research into the immune system has shed light on the role of a cell that is involved in the body’s response to allergens, such as dust, pollen or pet hair.
 

The cell type - called a dendritic cell - is already known for helping to co-ordinate the body’s response to infection.

It does this by enabling the immune system to activate the white blood cells that fight back at infection.
 
Cell role

Student solves fever mystery that has moved at snail’s pace

Scientists have solved an 80-year old mystery linked to an ancient but neglected tropical disease that affects more than 100 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
 
Researchers have discovered how people naturally build up immune resistance to snail fever – an infection caused by parasitic worms – and the process by which this is triggered.

People contract snail fever – also known as bilharzia or schistosomiasis – when worm larvae, released into freshwater ponds and rivers by infected snails, burrow through their skin.

Tom Little awarded ZSL scientific medal

CIIE's Tom Little has been awarded this year's prestigious Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Scientific Medal.

It's awarded to a research scientist with no more than 15 years post-doctoral experience for distinguished work in zoology.

Achilles’ heel found for malaria

Scientists have identified a link between different strains of malaria parasites that cause severe disease. The development could help develop vaccines or drugs against life-threatening cases of the infection.
 
Researchers have identified a key protein that is common to many potentially fatal forms of the condition. They found that antibodies that targeted this protein were effective against these severe malaria strains.
 

Edinburgh University scientists say African children at risk of contracting the infection.

Scientists at a Scottish university have called for all African children to be screened for a disease that causes impaired memory and organ damage.

Edinburgh University researchers found high rates of bilharzia, also known as snail fever, in children aged between one in five, challenging a misconception that they are at low risk of exposure.

The disease is transmitted by water and symptoms include stunted growth, damage to internal organs and impaired memory and thought.

Centre Director on BioPOD

Professor Keith Matthews has been interviewed for February's episode of School of Biological Sciences podcast: BioPOD.

In this episode Keith Matthews described a new cattle vaccination. All BioPOD podcasts are available online here.

CIIE members' research featured on WT blog

CIIE members' research has been recently featured on Wellcome Trust blog.

Research in a Nutshell

As part of the College of Science and Enginnering Project called Research in a Nutshell five CIIE scientists talk about their research.

 

CIIE/NERC Symposium on Maternal effects on health and fitness: perspectives from the biomedical and evolutionary sciences

We are pleased to announce that the CIIE/NERC Symposium on Maternal effects on health and fitness: perspectives from the biomedical and evolutionary sciences will be held on Wednesday, 9th May 2012 in Lecture Theatre 3, Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh.

This will be a one-day symposium designed to connect evolutionary biology to infection research and gain an interdisciplinary perspective on challenges to global health. 
 

CIIE members on combating infectious diseases in Nature Medicine

A recent publication in the journal Nature Medicine highlighted a core tenet of the CIIE: that biomedical research will find sustained solutions to infectious disease only if it is broad and multidisciplinary.
 

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