Collaborative Grant Program
Projects funded under this solicitation should contribute to:
- facilitating long-term, mutually beneficial international scientific collaboration in the biological sciences;
- exploring common norms for a shared sense of safe, secure, and ethical conduct of research and methods for implementation;
- exploring, recommending and suggesting ways of overcoming barriers and challenges towards international scientific collaboration in the areas of biotechnology, infectious disease
and biomedical strategies to combat disease;
- promoting education, recruitment, and retention of talented scientists; or
- building a network of scientific and institutional leaders in the region and their U.S. counterparts
The following grants have been selected after peer review and approval from the funder: the U.S. Department of State. There is no particular order for the presentation of the grants below (other than alphabetical order by title of project).
Ensuring Safe, Secure and Ethical Conduct Of Biomedical And Behavioral Research in Tunisia
Collaborators:
- Amel Benammar-Elgaaied, PhD, Faculté des sciences de Tunis, Tunisia
- Jan Blancato, PhD, and Irene Jillson, PhD, Georgetown University, USA
The long-term goal of the project is to contribute to ensuring safe, secure and ethical conduct of biomedical and behavioral research in Tunisia. The goals of the proposed project are 1) to create a protocol for use in ensuring safe, secure and ethical conduct of biomedical and behavioral research in Tunisia; and 2) train selected biomedical researchers, laboratory technicians and administrators, and others as appropriate in use of the protocol.
The specific objectives of the project are:
1. To collect existing international, national and institutional policies, laws, regulations, standards and guidelines and related documents that pertain to biomedical and behavioral safety, security and ethical considerations and review those deemed relevant to perceived needs of the partners;
2. To prepare a synthesis of these documents, identifying specific examples of their application in practice;
3. To engage biomedical and behavioral researchers, laboratory and other study managers, ethicists, social scientists, lawyers and policy makers in Tunisia and their counterparts in the U.S. site in dialogue regarding existing policies, laws and regulations;
4. To prepare a draft protocol, based on existing laws, policies and regulations and on the deliberations as part of Aim 3 that can be used by Tunisian biomedical research institutions; the protocol will also provide recommendations for the practical application of collaborative translational science, and will take into consideration existing Tunisian legal, scientific and other related institutional infrastructure and other factors related to biomedical and behavioral research conducted by Tunisian institutions and those with which they collaborate;
5. To conduct a two-day training of Tunisian biomedical researchers, laboratory technicians and administrators, and others as appropriate in use of the protocol
Infectious Disease Collaborative Research Initiative
Collaborators:
- Dr. Alexander Abdelnoor, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
- Dr. Karl E. Klose, University of Texas San Antonio, USA
One of the obstacles to productive collaborative research is the difficulty in matching scientists with common research interests who are willing to collaborate. The scientists within the Department of Experimental Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at the American University of Beirut (AUB) share mutual areas of research interest with scientists within the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) at the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA). This grant will stimulate collaborative research between AUB and STCEID in the general area of infectious disease, and more specifically in the focused research areas of microbial pathogenesis and immunity to microbial infections, with particular attention to gastrointestinal illness, zoonotic diseases, sexually-transmitted diseases, and mycoses. Collaborative research will be stimulated by two symposia workshops. These symposia will accomplish
1. the identification of common research areas and collaborative studies,
2. the familiarization of the scientists with the research capabilities, resources, and infrastructure of their collaborative partners, and
3. The familiarization of the scientists with the scope of infectious diseases and their impact on the local populations of their collaborative partners.
These symposia are a critical component to establishing long term research partnerships between AUB and STCEID. The long-term goal of the collaborative partnerships will be to reduce the global burden of infectious disease, through the development of novel therapeutics and vaccines.
Middle East Genomics Training and Educational Science Center
Collaborators:
- Saied Jaradat, Ph.D., Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan
- J. Chris Detter, Ph.D., Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA
The project is aimed at improving genomic research infrastructure and building up new human resource capacities in the Middle East through well design training modules at LANL for Jordanian technical staff. The first phase of the project with emphasis on training is the first milestone on the roadmap to establish the regional genomics capability.
According to two recent reports from the World Economic Forum and COMSTECH, the Average Arab expenditure on scientific research does not exceed 0.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most Arab countries and the number of scientific articles published in the Arab world between1998 to 2007 in public health and biology is only 960 articles. Transferring genomics technologies and skills to the region should form the supporting foundation to protect citizens from many threatening genetic and infectious diseases, enhancing metagenomic translational research in the biotechnology sector, improve pharmacovigilance (both drug safety and efficacy) in the Middle East, build up young student's interest in conducting responsible genomic science and subsequently tolerance for other cultures.
Partners in Jordan and the US are eager to cooperate with each other on this project and already exchange visits, and they have the initiative and capability to execute this project technologically and culturally. We believe that by applying genomic knowledge to the region we can improve healthcare for the populations of region and provide great research material to the national scientific committee.
Training in Nanobiotechnology for Detection of Environmental Viruses
Collaborators:
- Moulay Mustapha Ennaji, Ph.D., University Hassan II Mohammédia, Morocco
- Gregory A. Weiss, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, USA
Early detection of infectious disease provides the best opportunity for intervention and prevention of outbreaks, which can have devastating consequences. This project initiates a long-term collaboration between investigators from Morocco and the US to develop new methods for identifying and diagnosing pathogenic viruses found in environmental samples. During the year long project, investigators from Morocco will the visit the US to learn new techniques in the area of nanobiotechnology.
In addition, investigators from the US will travel to Morocco to learn about environmental sampling and novel viruses with the water situation in Morocco providing an ideal system for the development of effective environmental biosensing devices. Thus, the collaboration will initiate a virtuous cycle for the benefit of both collaborating parties and countries. Furthermore, the project will provide new methods for disease prevention and diagnosis, while also building scientific capacity in Morocco.
Transboundary Ecosystem Health in the Pamirs
Collaborators:
- Tahir Yaqub, Ph.D., University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pakistan
- Peter Zahler, M.Sc., Wildlife Conservation Society, USA
Brucellosis and mycoplasma pleuropneumonia are diseases of significant biosecurity concern. They are also of great concern to local livelihoods in the Pamir region, a mountainous area where pastoralists depend almost entirely on livestock for their survival. Three countries- Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan - share this region, yet there are no mechanisms for monitoring health issues in the Pamirs, much less sharing information across borders.
This project will take the first step in building the capacity for an integrated and transboundary approach to the study and management of diseases, and foster the creation of a health information network that will help mitigate disease transmission and improve health at the livestock/ wildlife/ human interface. We will do this through coordinated field missions in each country to evaluate the serological exposure level of livestock to brucellosis and caprine contagious pleuropneumonia.
Finally, we will hold a summary workshop to discuss the results of the field research, assess potential threats and interventions based on these preliminary data, review the situation of field-testing and syndromic reporting of diseases in the wider Pamirs, and discuss strategies for the implementation of better epidemiological surveillance in the region.