WHAT's New From NIAID, DMID, and the ICSSC

Fundamentals of International Clinical Research Workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, January 2010

The ICSSC will conduct the Fundamentals of International Clinical Research Workshop twice in 2010.  The first will be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and will be the first ICSSC workshop  held in Tanzania. The training will be held January 17-22, 2010 at the Mövenpick Royal Palm Hotel.

 Anyone involved in designing a clinical trial and writing a research protocol, or who supports the implementation of clinical trials, would greatly benefit from participation.  Participants from ten countries have been invited to attend. The workshop will incorporate both lecture and group exercises. Specific topics to be covered in the workshop include: 

• Fundamentals of the research process
• Study design
• Protocol development
• Data management
• Statistical analysis
• Discussions on international research ethics
• Managing and implementing clinical studies
• Designing and managing adverse event reporting systems
• Specific information on Good Clinical Practices
• Practical information on NIH requirements for research  

This workshop will be offered again in Bangkok, Thailand in September of 2010.

 

Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths in 1918

The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs. read more>

Researchers Find Quick Way to Make Human Monoclonal Antibodies against Flu

Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)—highly specific, identical, infection-fighting proteins produced in large quantities in the lab in cell lines that are derived from a single cell—against influenza can be rapidly produced in the lab, according to a new report from scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Using cells drawn from volunteers inoculated with seasonal influenza vaccine, the investigators made influenza-specific mAbs in just a few weeks rather than the typical two to three months. The new technique could potentially be used to rapidly create mAbs for a range of uses, the team says. read more>