ISID Research Capacity Building: New Updates from Cohort IlI
May 14, 2025
ISID's research grants are a key part of the Society’s efforts to combat infectious diseases, especially in countries with the highest burden of infectious diseases and economic challenges. We are excited to share the progress of three mentees from Cohort III as they advance their research projects!
Nakitto Irene Kisakye, Uganda
Project: Investigating the knowledge and practices of Village Health Teams regarding rational use of anti-malarial drugs in children under five years in Uganda
Dissemination activities, based on findings and preliminary recommendations, commenced with meetings involving Kasese District health leadership, community sensitization sessions targeting VHTs (including those not directly involved in the study), and two radio talk shows to reach a wider community audience. These activities were conducted between 17th February and 10th April 2025.
The first draft of the research report entitled “Investigating the Knowledge and Practices of Village Health Teams regarding the rational use of anti-malarial drugs in children under five years in Kasese District” was completed. This draft report provided the foundational insights and guided the planning and execution of the initial dissemination activities.
Engagement with the community VHTs spearheaded by the research assistant.
Kabirat Sulaiman, Nigeria
Project: Addressing the Diagnostic Hurdle of Schistosoma haematobium in Resource-Constrained Regions: Harnessing Fasciola-Derived Antigens for Urogenital Schistosomiasis Detection
The expected outcome of the project was completed as the study was able to establish an ELISA-based immunodiagnostic approach for S. haematobium using F. gigantica SEA with an overall 100% sensitivity and 65% specificity across all the population cohorts examined. Two immunoreactive protein bands (95-130 kDa and 34-43 kDa) identified from the Western blotting assay was submitted for LC-MS/MS proteomics analysis. Subsequently, bioinformatics analysis revealed the presence of two proteins each (paramyosin and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, mitochondrial) and (glyoxalase domain-containing protein 4) in the mass spectra of 95-130 kDa and 34-43 kDa, respectively. Further evaluation of these immunoreactive protein bands in a dot blot assay shows their possible adoption in a point-of-care diagnostic development.
Project: Molecular Characterization of a Novel Plasmodium falciparum Trap-like Protein as a Potential Vaccine Candidate Against Malaria Infections in Jos, Nigeria
During this quarter, significant progress was made despite encountering technical delays. Sequencing of the JPA amplicons was partially completed with challenges arising from non-specific amplification probably due to low GC content near the start codon. Highly conserved regions within the Plasmodium falciparum Trap-Like-Protein (PfTLP) for JPB gene segment were identified. Over 350 B-cell epitopes were predicted using silico tools. After rigorous immunogenicity, allergenicity, and toxicity screenings, 81 unique candidates with high potential for vaccine development were identified.
An extensive MHC-I epitope prediction based on 27 human alleles was conducted. About 95,000 potential epitopes were predicted. Stringent selection criteria was applied identifying six strong MHC-I peptides suitable for vaccine design. Also a thorough MHC-II epitope binding prediction using NetMHCIIpan 4.1. From 3,529 predicted peptides, five potential MHC-II peptides were identified after a comprehensive antigenicity, allergenicity, and toxicity assessment.
Joel Paul performing bioinformatics analysis at the Molecular Biology Research Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, University of Jos, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
Concerning the prevalence of Plasmodium infection in Jos North, Plateau State, Nigeria. Among 99 RDT-positive individuals, about 54.5% were confirmed positive for the Plasmodium genus using PCR techniques. RDT gives a high percentage of false positives, possibly because of the RDT cross-reactivity with other diseases or because the PfHRP2 antige,n which RDT Detects, can linger in the bloodstream for long time even after the parasite clearance. Efforts are underway to redesign primers that will improve the amplification specificity of JPA.
