Our Global Health Work and Coronavirus
April 17, 2020
We are deeply saddened by the lives lost in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and our hearts go out to the families worldwide who are impacted.
This crisis has highlighted how an infectious disease outbreak in one region can quickly spread globally, especially when no effective drugs are available. As such, we are now more committed than ever to bringing knowledge about antibacterial phages to scientists in developing countries, so they will have the means to tackle antibiotic-resistant infections.
Participants of the Tanzania Phage Workshop in January 2020
inspecting newly isolated phages
Having now delivered four Workshops in Africa, we have wanted to expand our trainings into Asia, where the largest number deaths from antibiotic resistance are expected to occur (4.73 million deaths yearly by 2050). Through an initial unsolicited grant from an anonymous donor, plus a successful year-end crowdfunding campaign in December, we had raised much of the money required for a workshop in Asia.
We are now pleased to report that we have won a grant from the UK government* that will supply the remaining funds needed!
What's more, our proposal was ranked #1 amongst all the proposals submitted for this particular grant opportunity.
Thus, our first Phage Workshop in Asia is tentatively scheduled to be held in Malaysia during November 2020, with the official call for applications planned to go out by June 2020. However, we will continue to monitor the global health travel guidelines to determine if it is wise for participants and instructors to travel to the workshop at that time. If needed, we will postpone the workshop until sometime in 2021 — as soon as conditions allow.
Thank you for partnering with us in this journey.
Wishing good health to all,
Tobi Nagel - President
Karen Erickson - Treasurer
James Lin - Secretary
* Funding provided by the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council / Global Challenges Research Fund - Strategic Training Awards for Research Skills (GCRF-STARS)