Institute for Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum

Sudan

 

The Institute for Endemic Diseases at the University of Khartoum has departments of immunology, molecular biology, parasitology and human population genetics. The Institute is well equipped for laboratory research activities, with good facilities for both cellular immunology and molecular genetics, including automated DNA sequencing. A particular strength is the close link between clinical investigation of parasitic disease and basic molecular science.

Sudan has two features of particular interest to the MalariaGEN project: a wide range of malaria transmission intensities, and a broad variety of ethnic groups, with emerging evidence of variation in their susceptibility to malaria. The Institute has two well established and fully equipped research and primary healthcare facilities in remote areas of the Eastern Province. These are located 600 km to the southeast of Khartoum, with very bad roads through rural areas for 300km of this distance. The centres in Kassab, Doka Um Elkheir and Bazoura are run as field research stations for the Institute, training facilities for graduate and undergraduate students and as a service to the community.

People

• Muntaser Ibrahim (MalariaGEN Investigator)
• Ayman Hussein (MalariaGEN Data Fellow)

How the team have contributed to MalariaGEN

Professor Ibrahim and his team are contributing to both Consortial Project 2 and Consortial Project 3.

For Consortial Project 2, given the low malaria endemicity and low transmission rates, continuous surveillance was performed in two villages. To assist this, researchers trained community-based contact people to do basic duties such as testing for malaria using kits, giving first-line treatment and making blood smears for confirmatory laboratory testing. Over 1500 matched DNA and serum samples have now been collected.

For Consortial Project 3 the team have recruited 144 samples.