Grant: Joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program

Infectious diseases have enormous impacts on global health and economics. This study focuses on developing therapies and vaccines against two devastating diseases, Dengue fever (DF) and East Coast fever (ECF). Currently 3.6 billion people are at risk of Dengue infection. Endemic in 100 countries with an estimated 390 million annual infections and ~500,000 hospitalizations yearly makes DF a worldwide challenge for public health officials and policy makers. ECF is a tick-borne disease affecting cattle, caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria parva. With a 3 - 4 week incubation time and 100% mortality rate in exotic cattle, it has a devastating impact on pastoralists and smallholder farmers in Africa. This collaborative research program, with experts from around the world, aims to develop affordable antibody (Ab)-based therapies for Dengue patients and improved vaccines for the control of DF and ECF in both humans and animals. The team will combine cutting-edge immunology, protein and Ab engineering methods to generate Abs and proteins with therapeutic and vaccine potential. Importantly, our core technologies reduce the use of animals in research and are easy and affordable to implement. This makes these approaches particularly appealing to research groups in low and middle-income countries. With this collaboration, we will share technology developed in Canada and Israel with research partners in the International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya and SciGenom, India, that excel in cattle research and Ab production, respectively. The exchange of trainees and information will be the foundation of our program and help achieve our goals of disease control.