On the occasion of World Health Day, 7 April 2021, we meet the scientists in ICGEB Member States who have received CRP Grants for their research into COVID-19.
As part of our CRP Grant Funding Programme, in 2020 ICGEB held a special call for Grants for research into COVID-19 from scientists working in ICGEB Member States. Of the more than 100 proposals submitted, ICGEB was able to provide support for nine, with three being funded by the Italo-Latin American Organization IILA.
We are delighted to present a selection of videos from the awardees, introducing the Principal Investigators whose projects are underway in their laboratories in Algeria, Costa Rica, Kenya, Mexico, North Macedonia, and Uruguay, and, in collaboration with IILA, labs in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.
Here we feature:
Dr. Abla Djebbar, Algeria Development and production of an RT-qPCR diagnostic kit for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
Dr. Eugenia Corrales-Aguilar, Cost Rica A cellular-based surrogate assay for the identification of neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and the screening of receptor-binding inhibitors
Dr. Tindih Heshborne, Kenya Characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and antibodies
Dr. Hilda Minerva Gonzealez Sánchez, Mexico Human germinal center organoids as a tool to understand B cell biology and for the identification of monoclonal antibodies with therapeutic potential against SARS-CoV-2
Dr. Gloria Virginia López, Uruguay Focused drug discovery against SARS-CoV-2: Targeting cell invasion and replication (in Spanish)
We wish to thank the recipients of the ICGEB CRP Grant awards for presenting the great work they do, and IILA for the collaboration on this project.
ICGEB’s Principal Investigators head laboratories to conduct research to understand human disease, address death and disease caused by infectious agents, and apply modern molecular biology to study human viral and parasitic diseases to develop more accessible diagnostics and novel strategies for effective treatment and prevention. They strive to find practical and sustainable solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of human disease.
