June 2024
For the first time in five years, members of the PREV_PKDL consortia were able to meet in person for the 6th annual meeting on the 3rd of June in Nairobi, Kenya. Attendees presented and discussed project advancements and upcoming activities.
Meeting highlights:
Due to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, the planned clinical trial is unable to occur, so the remainder of the project will be focused on ImmStat@Cure (WP5). Project sites in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan have worked extremely hard under challenging conditions to complete the recruitment drive for patient clinical samples that will be used in the multi-dimensional, multiparameter phenotyping research study in patients treated for visceral leishmaniasis, to better understand the pathogenesis of the disease and the underlying immune mechanisms.
Many project members are in Nairobi to take part in the mass sample processing and analysis exercise which will occur at the Kenyan Medicine and Research Institute following the annual meeting. Along with African partners who have arranged the shipment of their samples to Kenya for analysis, the University of York research team (which includes flow cytometry experts and those involved in the genome-wide association study characterising the influence of parasite variation on visceral leishmaniasis) will also be in attendance. Early career researchers from all sites will take this opportunity to take part in scientific exchanges and receive advanced training.
With the project scheduled to end in 2025, primary objectives moving forward include:
-ensuring optimal results from the ImmStat@Cure studies
-establishing enduring immunology research capabilities in the East-African Region, ensuring site sustainability beyond the project lifespan).
Members of the project Scientific and Ethics Advisory Committee joined the meeting to provide their feedback and recommendations to the consortium.
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The project is led by Dr Kimberly Veenstra (European Vaccine Initiative, Germany), with partners from United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan.
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