Daily Archives: July 21, 2022

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an urgent call to accelerate access to genomics, especially in resource-poor countries, in a report that examines technology gaps and opportunities.

Genomics is the branch of science that uses methods from biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology to understand and use biological information in DNA andRNAto benefit medicine and public health but the technology can also be used in agricultural research.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, genomics has been essential to detecting the virus initially and new variants subsequently and also integral to the development of tests, treatments and vaccines, said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a virtual press conference from Geneva on Tuesday (12 July).

Further, genomics has massive potential beyond pathogen surveillance for human health. It is timely for countries to invest in infrastructure and human resources in this area.

While genomics technology is driving some of the most ground-breaking research in medical science, including COVID-19 vaccine research and development, its full potential is yet to be realised globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to the WHO Science Councilsinaugural report.

Its not justifiable ethically or scientifically for less-resourced countries to gain access to such technologies long after rich countries do, the authors argue.

American scientist Harold Varmus, chair of the council and a Nobel Laureate, said: Were encouraged by evidence we gathered that genomics has been adopted in many relatively poor countries, and that costs are going down.

There are also incentives to encourage commercial providers of the essential ingredients such as machines, reagents and software to use a variety of economic incentives to further the expansion of the use of genomics.

We are, however, concerned that the already widespread use of genomics in advanced countries should not leave LMICs behind, as has occurred in many other contexts.

A raft of measures has been put in motion aimed at making the technology more accessible in LMICs, including modified pricing models, sharing of intellectual property rights for low-cost versions and cross-subsidisation where profits in one area are used to fund another.

But challenges remain in addressing shortfalls in financing, laboratory infrastructure, materials and highly trained personnel, according to the analysis.

The authors highlight four thematic areas to promote the adoption and expanded use of genomics: advocacy, implementation, collaboration and tackling legal and ethical concerns.

For this to happen, they say governments, academic institutions and businesses have to be convinced of the medical, scientific and commercial benefits of genomics.

The Science Council puts forward a number of recommendations to address ethical, legal and social issues associated with genomics and urges the WHO to become the authoritative source for mediation and guidance on these.

The council was formed following calls from the science world for amoratorium on human genome editing, after biophysicist He Jiankui announced in 2018 that he had used the CRISPR genome-editing technique to alter embryos that resulted in two births.

The Council was established in April 2021 to provide guidance on the science and research strategy of the organisation. It is currently made up of nine members who serve in a personal capacity, rather than as representatives of institutions or countries.

Were optimistic about the future applications of genomics, said Varmus. We believe that adoption of widespread use is feasible and with the help of the WHO and its leaders it can be achieved.

Alessandro Marcello, head of the molecular virology laboratory at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Italy, says the use of genomics in surveillance of viruses received a major boost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new standard for molecular epidemiology is whole genome sequencing. WHO is right in highlighting disparity in different countries, not only in Africa, he said, and added: There are several efforts to fill this gap that need coordination and we are moving in the direction of enabling community labs to be able to sequence locally circulating viruses.

As well as sharing of data, simple and affordable workflows for sequencing are needed, he said, not expensive, centralised facilities.

Dann Okoth

This article is republished fromSciDev.Net under a Creative Commons license.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Global desk.

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'Time to invest in genomics' in poorer countries WHO - Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

IT TURNS OUT that the Garden of Eden might have been missing a few things. Today, the fruit aisle is stocked with all kinds of new temptations, and they seem to be getting sweeter. Lets start with the grapes, namely Cotton Candy grapes (green), Gum Drop grapes (purple) and Gummyberries (red). Imagine my disappointment when, in June, I tried some grape jam-flavored Jellyberries from the company Divine Flavor and found they tasted like regular old grapes sweet, but not Smuckers sweet.

These candylike fruits are the product of plant breeding, a practice thats over 200 years old. In 1766, the strawberry-obsessed French botanist Antoine Nicolas Duchesne published a book about the berrys different varieties and their potential for crossbreeding. By the 19th century, farmers were crossbreeding plants constantly, whether in search of better flavor, higher yield and hardiness, bigger berries, more sweetness or resistance to disease. And in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the American botanist Luther Burbank developed over 800 improved and hybrid plants. Plumcot, anyone?

But it was the Cotton Candy grape that, in 2013, arguably kicked off the specialty fruit boom as we know it. The trademarked and licensed varietal was developed by the company International Fruit Genetics and is sold exclusively in the United States by the grape grower Grapery. The fruit breeder Dr. David Cain got the idea for the grape after tasting a new breed of Concord grape that was reminiscent of cotton candy but too mushy to be sold. That breed needed to be crossed with other breeds in order to create a cotton candy-flavored grape that would be seedless and juicy, with snappy skin. (Its also crucial that Cotton Candy grapes be picked at the height of ripeness and refrigerated within six hours for the best texture and flavor.) Since then, the Grapery has grown the Cotton Candy grape crop eightfold, despite it taking two to three years alone for a grapevine to bear fruit, and grape lovers are keeping pace. According to the market research firm 210 Analytics, from May 2021 to May 2022, Cotton Candy grapes sold over $129 million in the States, up from $102 million during the same period the previous year. Additionally, Jim Beagle, Graperys C.E.O., says customers are willing to pay twice as much for Cotton Candy grapes than they are for other ones.

Strawberries, one of the highest-selling fruits in the United States, have also gotten an update. Sunset Grown offers three varieties, including the Wow Berries lolliberry, which has the mouthwatering sweetness of a pink Starburst. Oishiis perfectly ripe Omakase strawberries are fragrant, flavorful and so soft they need to be cradled in foam packaging to survive grocery store shelves from which, at the Whole Foods in Manhattans Chelsea neighborhood, they regularly disappear before noon. (After Oishii acquired over 100 times more growing space in May, it was able to decrease the price of a tray from a whopping $50 to $20.) Driscolls sells a trio of designer strawberries: Ros Berries; pale Tropical Bliss, with notes of pineapple and passion fruit; and my favorite, Sweetest Batch, which the brand describes as tasting like fruit punch. Then theres the new Honeyglow pineapple from Del Monte, which is picked at peak ripeness for a pronounced, rounder flavor than those plucked beforehand and left to ripen in the store or on a kitchen counter. The brand also offers Pinkglow pineapples, which are the color of deli ham and sold in pink boxes for about $15 a pop. I snagged one over Fourth of July weekend and it was juicy and gently sweet, completely devoid of the fruits usual tongue-itching acidity.

Often, in addition to being gustatory, the changes are notably aesthetic. Last summer, the wholesaler Baldor Specialty Foods began selling Picasso melons, an especially sweet honeydew with snow leopard spots on the rind and a beautiful green flesh, says the companys director of merchandising and category development, Matt Rendine, as well as Sunshine Watermelons, which have a golden yellow rind and magenta flesh. Also see the Hidden Rose Apple, the flesh of which is splotched with pink and tastes like strawberry lemonade.

ARE THESE FRUITS, intended above all to be more ideal versions of themselves, actually sweeter? And should we, as poor Eve was made to, feel guilty for eating them? Almost every producer I spoke to mentioned how much sweeter their new fruits were; at Driscolls, they know the Tropical Bliss strawberries are 10 percent sweeter than the traditional red variety. Oishii measures the Brix (sugar) level of every berry before its packaged to keep the quality consistent. And when Ive brought a bag of chilled Cotton Candy grapes to the beach, (probably Keto) friends of mine have scoffed at how they must be packed with sugar, before pouring a glass of ros that probably had even more. Because while natural sugar is still sugar, the amount in these fruits has nothing on actual candy. And hey, theyre still packed with health-affirming antioxidants, vitamin C and fiber, too.

What about the rather common fear of food grown in a less than rustic setting might there be something sinister lurking in these specialty fruits? Early crossbreeding was done by hand, and still is at Driscolls though the brand has a lab where breeders might test 60 different strawberries before lunch. Driscolls global director of strawberry breeding, Phil Stewart, oversees a team that grows over 100,000 varieties a year, and that is always combining traits of one berry with those of another. Its members pick an elite parent plant (one thats supersweet, say) to cross-pollinate with another (one thats got firm flesh), and then examine the hundreds of offspring until theyve created their dream berry. Theyve even experimented with a breed that had notes of Gorgonzola that was really kind of horrifying, says Stewart. For the most part, though, the fruits in this story are less newfangled than they might sound. The Tropical Bliss berry, for instance, is the descendant of one of the oldest varieties of strawberries and was over 25 years in the making.

Genetic engineering usually takes place when a trait of a plant cant be created by crossbreeding. (Though half of the public believes G.M.O.s are harmful to ones health, theres a lack of scientific evidence to back that up.) Of the fruits mentioned here, however, only the Del Monte Pinkglow pineapple was made with genetic modification a gene was toned down to produce less of an enzyme that turns the pineapple from pink to yellow while the marketing teams of the rest go out of their way to remind us that they were created via old-fashioned methods.

At the same time, these fruits might also help expand the future of indoor farming. Its more expensive to grow indoors, but it makes year-round produce possible and creates local food systems, uses less water, avoids the pitfalls of climate change and extreme weather and makes pesticide-free farming the norm. Vertical farms also tend to have better working conditions (horizontal farms require repetitive bending, and then theres the sweltering sun), though they require less labor overall because so much is automated. Oishii, which has received over $50 million in funding and has aims to become the largest strawberry producer on the planet, even has proprietary technology that allows bees to thrive indoors. They live in harmony with our farmers and our A.I.-powered robots, said Oishiis C.E.O., Hiroki Koga.

Most consumers, though, have to be buying and eating these fruits primarily because they like them. Fran Dillard, Driscolls vice president of brand and product marketing, who wore a necklace with a strawberry charm on our video call, thinks their success is reflective of post-peak-Covid optimism. At the start of the pandemic, grocery stores, with their empty flour shelves and obvious dependence on underpaid essential workers, became microcosms of our entire society. Now, at least in some places, theyre overstocked paradises of new treats almost cartoonish and surreal. For a trippy fruit salad, pair pink pineapple with yellow strawberries and be on the lookout for Sunset Growns Moon berries, extra-long blackberries with less of that woody inner stem that are expected later this year. Indeed, maybe, at a time when so much seems out of our control and in need of improvement, knowing that we can at least have a perfect strawberry is a small source of comfort, and maybe that knowledge makes it taste sweeter still. Its very gratifying as a plant breeder to produce something that people like that much, says Stewart, The world needs alfalfa, but nobodys excited when you show up at a party with a box of alfalfa, you know?

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On Gum Drop Grapes and Other Fruits Designed to Taste Like Candy - The New York Times

A drought-resistant rice variety developed through application of genome-edited technology for the first time in the country, is expected to be available for field evaluation by kharif 2024and for commercial cultivation by farmers by 2026, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said.

The environment ministry and Department of Biotechnology (DBT) have given the sanctions for the field evaluation of genome-edited rice variety during the kharif 2024 season to Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi, Tomar stated in a written reply to Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The research work is carried out with the approval of institutional biosafety committee constituted by DBT under Environment Protection Act, 1986.

New variety of rice is expected to improve water use efficiency in paddy cultivation and help farmers in taking up the crops despite rainfall deficiency, KC Bansal, secretary, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told FE.

This is expected to be the first variety of agricultural crop developed using genome-edited technology to go for commercial release in the next four years in the country.

The government in March had exempted certain types of genome-edited crops from the stringent bio-safety regulations applicable to genetically-modified (GM) crops to ensure wider use of this technology and accelerate genetic improvement of crops in the country.

There are several crops being developed through using genome-edited technology that are in the pipeline for field trial.

The environment ministry, in a notification had exempted site directed nuclease (SDN) 1 and 2 genomes from Rules 7-11 of the Environment Protection Act, thus allowing it to avoid a long process for approval of GM crops through the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).

Scientists associated with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research said the technology has great promise and emphasis is needed on improving oilseed and pulse crop varieties resistant to diseases, insects or pests, and tolerant to drought, salinity and heat stresses

Scientists say that genome-edited plants are different from genetically-modified organisms (GMO) technology. Genome editing is a group of technologies that gives scientists the ability to change an organisms DNA.

The US and China are leaders in usage of this technology for developing crop varieties like rice, maize, soyabean, canola and tomato which withstand biotic and abiotic stresses arising out of climate change.

Last year, a group of eminent agriculture scientists wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for ease of release of genome-editing technology for the sector.

In the case of GM technology, applicants have to apply to the GEAC, which follows time-consuming testing methods along with states. Till now, cotton is the only GM crop that has been approved for commercial cultivation in the country.

Continue reading here:
Drought-resistant & genome edited rice variety likely to be released to farmers by 2026: Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar - The Financial...

Westford, USA, July 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the age where information is just on the point of being impossible to control and organize for individuals, we are dictating more and more about companies and sectors taking names of new fields all the time. "Synthetic biology" is one such example - a field so far from its origins in bioengineering that it has recently seen intense end-user investing through start-ups like Evoce and CRISPR Therapeutics.

This is closely related to new advancements in synthetic biology, which have sparked a great interest among both investors and leading tech companies thanks to their potential for creating a life-like ecosystem in an ever-expanding era of resource scarcity.

SkyQuest Technology has published a report on Synthetic Biology Market that covers all the possible aspect of the market and provide deep understanding about investment and business ecosystem. But this press release would shade light on some of the key question we often come across

Get sample copy of this report:

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Potential of Synthetic Biology is still Unwinding

Synthetic Biology, when done right, can be an incredible tool for solving some of the world's most challenging problems. With the potential to create completely novel types of products and services, it's no wonder that many are bullish on the potential of this nascent field.

While there is still much opportunities left untapped in terms of the full potential of synthetic biology, its potential is still unwinding. With continued innovation and improvement in both academia and industry, it's clear that synthetic biology has a lot to offer the future. The potential of synthetic biology is still unwinding, and it's not just because the field is young. The technology has been around for only a few decades and it still has a lot of potential to improve human life and enable innovation.

We have covered several prominent application areas and its impact on the start-up ecosystem funding and future of Synthetic Biology market:

The pharmaceutical industry is worth an estimated $2 trillion dollars and is expected to grow at 5% a year through 2025. However, the development of drugs takes decades, which is too long for most biotech startups looking for fast-track drug development programs. If we can use methods like synthetic biology to speed up drug development times, then we could revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry and provide much needed affordable healthcare to millions of people around the globe. These factors can significantly contribute to growth of synthetic biology market in the years to come.

In recent years, 3M's MIBK has come in to play as an inexpensive prototypal compound for plastics. However, we are at risk of running out of this important precursor at the rate we are using it. Supplied from palm oil plantations which have pushed deforestation beyond the limits of these immense swaths of nothing but rainforest; there's a serious risk that our plants will no longer be able to get raw material for plastics. If synthetic biology can speed up the production and synthesis of MIBK, then we could mitigate soil depletion and stop the use of fossil fuels in plastics altogether! All in all, synthetic biology is far too promising to ignore.

Synthetic Biology Market is Flooded with Funding and it is not Going to witness Drought Anytime Soon

Synthetic biology is a hot investment sector for the next couple of years. With huge potential for disruption, venture capitalists are pouring money into the field at an extraordinary rate. So far, 2021 has been a banner year for venture capital financing in synthetic biology with $7.4 billion invested in projects and technologies. This works out to an average of over $140 million per week! The global synthetic biology market witnessed a strong inflow coming from healthcare, food, agriculture sectors, which contributed around, $667 million, 1.1 billion, and 997 million in 2021. However, the healthcare has remained the major contributor to the funding from the very beginning.

This recent momentum is not going to stop any time soon. A lot of big names are getting involved in the space, and they are all looking for their next big investment angle. Private equity firms and venture capitalists see tremendous potential in synthetic biology, and they are not going to sit on their hands until they see real results.

Currently, the top three focus areas for investments in synthetic biology are

Each one of these sectors has unique potential for disruption by using synthetic biology technology. The opportunities are there for all types of startups, from early-stage companies just beginning to test and develop their products to established bio-tech giants that may want to expand their product lines into new areas using synthetic biology.

Top Investments in Synthetic Biology Market in 2021

For better understanding of how the venture capitalists are investing in the synthetic biology market and to gain deep understanding about analysis of funding in each sector,

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://skyquestt.com/report/synthetic-biology-market

Here are Some of the Recent Advancements Covered in Global Synthetic Biology Market Report

There is no doubt that synthetic biology market holds great potential for both society and industry. As such, it is important for businesses and individuals to stay up-to-date on these latest developments in order to ensure that they are true leaders in their respective fields.

Glimpse of What Pharmaceutical Companies Doing to Take Advantage of Synthetic Biology Market

The pharmaceutical industry is huge and it is constantly looking for new ways to stay ahead of the curve. So, when it comes to synthetic biology, the pharmaceutical industry isnt waiting around its jumping on board. Recently, we saw a number of major drug companies invest in and launch synthetic biology projects. For example, Autolus and Cambrian Biopharma in therapeutics with $250 million and $100 million respectively in 2021.

These investments in the global synthetic biology market are just the tip of the iceberg. Many other pharmaceutical companies are likely investing in synthetic biology projects without publicly announcing it. This is because synthetic biology is still in its early stages and there are many unknowns. Its important for pharma companies to gain an edge over their competitors by exploring all possible opportunities.

As pharmaceutical companies begin to take notice of the potential opportunities that synthetic biology offers, they are not leaving any stone unturned in their pursuit of this lucrative synthetic biology market. Recently, two prominent pharmaceutical companies- Merck and Amgen- both announced plans to invest in synthetic biology. This news comes on the heels of a string of other large biotech companies, such as Roche and Abbott, entering the synthetic biology field. The key to these companies' successes lies in their ability to see beyond traditional boundaries and develop new ways of treating diseases.

These latest announcements suggest that pharmaceutical companies are committed to synthetic biology as an avenue for growth and innovation. In addition, these companies are betting on synthetic biology's potential to revolutionize the way we treat disease. The success of this fledgling field will depend largely on whether or not these pharmaceuticals can strike it rich with new cures for common diseases.

The synthetic biology market report would be a great help for businesses or investors looking for the next big investment focus. This report would include information on the actual technology and the ways in which it can be applied to various industries. Additionally, the report would include statistics on the current investments in this field and how they are progressing. Overall, this report would be a valuable resource for anyone looking to make a major investment in this growing field.

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Bioeconomy is Budding and Synthetic Biology is Watering it Growth

Bioeconomy is a buzzword in the biotech and biotech investment industries, with many investors looking to find investments in synthetic biology market to reap the potential rewards. The bioeconomy refers to the broad range of activities that can be engaged in to create value from nature's bio-resources, including agriculture, environmental cleanup, textiles and furniture production, medical diagnostics and therapeutics, and more.

The bioeconomy is an exciting and rapidly growing field that has the potential to improve the quality of life for everyone on Earth. Biofuels are a key part of the bioeconomy, as they provide an environmentally friendly way to use renewable resources. Another important part of the synthetic biology market in bioeconomy is biomanufacturing, which helps us create products with improved quality and safety. And last but not least, genome editing is key to creating new strains of engineered organisms that can do better work in specific fields or solve specific problems.

Synthetic biology market is a rapidly growing with potential for many applications, including food security, renewable energy and clean manufacturing. Today, synthetic biologists are working to develop new methods for engineering living systems, and this research is shedding light on the enormous potential of the bioeconomy. Here are four ways in which synthetic biologists are helping to shape the future of the bioeconomy:

Synthetic Biology is Expanding its Roots to Strengthen Environment Sustainability

Synthetic biology is one of the newer and rapidly-growing scientific fields, with potential to improve environmental sustainability. SkyQuest Technology projects that within the next decade synthetic biology market could play a key role in repairing and restoring ecosystems, averting climate change, and boosting crop production.

Nonetheless, there are some challenges to overcome before synthetic biology can completely fill this role. For one, there is still much to learn about how cells work together to create biological circuits a foundational concept in synthetic biology. Additionally, scientists need to develop better analytical tools that can efficiently identify and track engineered organisms in real time. However, as the synthetic biology market expands, these challenges are likely to be solved. In the meantime, here are four ways in which synthetic biology could impact environmental sustainability in the coming years:

Synthetic biology market is a relatively new field that uses biotechnology to create artificial life. The ability to modify and control the genes of living organisms has the potential to improve environmental sustainability. By creating new methods for recycling and using materials more efficiently, synthetic biologists can help create cleaner environments.

Key players in Synthetic biology market are:

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Infant Formula Market

Global Genomics Market

Global Exosomes Market

Global Biosimilars Market

Global Recombinant Protein Market

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Synthetic Biology Market a Ray of Hope for Pharma and Food Companies to Revolutionize their Way of Looking at Growth Opportunities - GlobeNewswire

In September 2021, as Maxine Hft was nearing the end of the fourth year of her PhD, the unthinkable happened. Her dad her hero, number one supporter and best friend passed away. As she battled to come to terms with his death, three months later, she lost her grandmother, and her world as she knew it came tumbling down.

I went through the toughest time of my life. My world fell to pieces so quickly and so unexpectedly. I had to go back home to the Eastern Cape and pack up my dads house the home I grew up in. I had to face life without my dad and my gran, and my reality that I had a PhD looming, one that I was so close to finishing, Maxine said.

Broken and useless

For four months, Maxine was broken and useless. In January this year, she almost gave up. She felt she needed more time to grieve, and she came close to extending her degree by another year. But her supervisor, Associate Professor Claire Hoving, encouraged her to keep going. Associate Professor Hoving provided the reassurance Maxine so desperately needed. Hoving committed to supporting her completely even if it meant reviewing her thesis chapters at short notice and with quick turnaround times.

With a heavy heart, and many late nights with tears streaming down her face, Maxine put pen to paper. Thankfully, she managed to complete and submit her thesis at the end of February. In June she got word that she had made the cut, and come 22July, she will graduate with her PhD in clinical science and immunology from the University of Cape Town (UCT).

All my efforts and everything I achieved as a result, I dedicate to my dad, Elwyn Walter Hft, and my gran, Rosemary Ann Raath.

All my efforts and everything I achieved as a result, I dedicate to my dad, Elwyn Walter Hft, and my gran, Rosemary Ann Raath, Maxine said. My dad has been jokingly calling me Dr Hft since my honours year. I never imagined that he wouldnt be standing cheering me on with tears in his eyes on my PhD graduation day. But I know that he will have his hand on my shoulder always and I will hear him cheer during all my victories for the rest of my life.

A scientist by nature

Since a young age, Maxine was fascinated by science. She adored time in nature, and biology and science were her favourite subjects at school. It came as no surprise to her parents when she opted to enrol for a Bachelor of Science at Rhodes University when she matriculated. During her undergraduate degree she developed a strong interest and passion for microbiology and molecular cell biology and the medical aspect associated with these areas of study. Therefore, her honours in microbiology and masters in biochemistry involved cancer research. Both degrees followed in quick succession.

Maxine completed her masters at the end of 2016. With little idea of what to do next, she moved to Cape Town and started tutoring high school learners in science and biology to generate an income. But this role didnt last very long. When she successfully applied for a joint national Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation internship based in the African International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in UCTs Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, it was the start of something great. The internship paved the way to her PhD, which she formally started in 2018 in UCTs Africa CMM Medical Mycology Research Unit.

Research has taught me resilience, perseverance, critical thinking and undying problem-solving capabilities. Without lifes curveballs, a PhD is not an easy challenge to take on. It requires a specific emotional and academic intelligence, passion, a methodical approach and persistence. It is equally frustrating as it is rewarding, Maxine said.

Ground-breaking research

The topic of Maxines dissertation was Understanding the immune response to Emergomyces africanus. Emergomyces species are a group of fungi that opportunistically cause disease among people with weakened immune systems. Emergomyces africanus is a newly discovered fungus within the Emergomyces group and was first identified at Groote Schuur Hospital in 2013. The disease affects people with advanced HIV and causes high fatality rates, especially in patients who dont receive anti-fungal treatment. The true burden of disease in South Africa remains unknown. However, as diagnostic testing improved in recent years, the country recorded a dramatic increase in the number of reported cases.

The aim of Maxines research project was to better understand the immune response to the Emergomyces africanus fungus. She set out to identify key immune mechanisms which a healthy host (body) uses to fight and clear an infection, establish which of these responses are absent in an immunocompromised host and as a result could lead to invasive Emergomycosis and ultimately to death.

Fungal infections kill an estimated 1.5 million people annually and the majority of deaths occur in Africa. Yet, fungi remain underestimated and research in this field is severely neglected. My PhD was an opportunity to understand an emerging disease endemic to South Africa and to identify key immune components that could be used to control this fungal pathogen, Maxine said.

The findings

Maxines research results indicate that a T-helper 1 cell, also known as a CD4+ cell, mediates an immune response during Emergomyces africanus infection and identifies the main cytokine (a broad and loose category of small proteins that regulate inflammation and play a vital role in regulating the immune response in health and disease) and antibody responses to the infection.

This work had laid the foundation to better understand Emergomyces and the study has added valuable insight into disease kinetics and fungal clearance mechanisms.

Her research also highlighted the key cytokine immune response currently lacking in immunocompromised hosts. This, she added, may provide a possible explanation as to why people living with HIV/AIDS are suspectable to the infection. This process may also bring into focus other vulnerable patients at high risk of contracting the infection, which includes organ transplant recipients, cancer patients, and patients who receive high doses of corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive therapy.

This work has laid the foundation to better understand Emergomyces and the study has added valuable insight into disease kinetics and fungal clearance mechanisms. From case study reports we see that people living with HIV/AIDS are far more likely to develop serious symptomatic and disseminated Emergomyces disease, she said. Our model could also be further exploited to look at new avenues for therapy. Research focusing on immune therapy and possible vaccine development will have a tremendous impact on the treatment and management of the disease.

Where to from here

Many of Maxines peers have already relocated abroad to pursue postdoctoral fellowships at various universities. But her feet are firmly planted on South African soil. After all, she pointed out that Africa bears the highest burden of poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases, and desperately requires the skills of clinicians and researchers in the field.

Africa and South Africa depend heavily on research findings from first-world countries where their healthcare challenges are incomparable to ours and their population demographics are vastly different. Our country is burdened by infectious diseases that are not encountered in many developed countries, and we desperately need to build capacity of home-grown medical researchers to lead our battle in tackling our countrys healthcare challenges, she said.

Maxine will continue her postdoctoral research at UCT and plans to engage with various laboratories and collaborators to gain clinical research experience to equip herself with the knowledge she needs to help tackle some of the biggest health challenges that South Africans and Africans face.

Having more researchers in the neglected fields of medical mycology and fungal immunology, who can make government and funders aware of the serious fungal pathogens infecting those who are HIV positive will contribute toward reducing the mortality rate among HIV-positive and immunocompromised people, especially those in developing countries. We need better diagnostic tools and better treatment, and I want to contribute, Maxine said.

Wise words of advice

Reflecting on her journey, Maxine said a quote by Robert Collier helped her through many dark days, when all she wanted was to give up on her dream: Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. By pasting the quote on her wall it reminded her of her progress.

I have since taken comfort in accepting that tough times will always be inevitable in our lives. But its how we respond to them that defines our future. I have found that there can be a weird symbiotic relationship between painful experiences and achieving your goals. Working towards a goal can give you purpose during a time when you might have little hope, she said.

With a chuckle, she reminded current, and the incoming cohort of undergraduate and postgraduate students, that while her journey to her PhD was filled with many hurdles, there were many highs too. She said she especially loved returning to a university setting to conduct research in an area she loved and was delighted when during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic she was presented with an opportunity to write a full chapter in a Springer Nature textbook.

Id like people to remember that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Writing the chapter was daunting but was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It was such a highlight and a real silver lining during a time when I felt so much was lost during a critical time of my PhD. So, it wasnt all bad, and Id like people to remember that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Stay strong and be prepared to grab the opportunity that awaits you, Maxine said.

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'Success is the sum of small efforts' - University of Cape Town News