APPENDIX 45
Memorandum from Professor Olugbemiro Sodeinde,
University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
THE FUTURE OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
MEDICAL RESEARCH—PLEASE SAFEGUARD IT
I am Head of the Department of Paediatrics,
College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and University College
Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria. UCH is the oldest established
Teaching Hospital in West Africa. In addition to providing health
care as the central regional hospital, our remit includes training
a cadre of doctors with laboratory as well as clinical skills
for high quality research. Our undergraduate students and postgraduate
trainees come from other anglophone West African countries as
well as Nigeria. Twice a year, we host the professional examinations
of the West African College of Physicians.
I am sure it would not surprise you that my
interest in the matter of your inquiry stems from the excellent
collaboration we have in malaria research with the Division of
Parasitology at Mill Hill. This three-way collaboration between
us, NIMR and the Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan,
Nigeria, is supported by the WHO and the Wellcome Trust.
This collaboration has primarily been focused
on malaria vaccines. It led to the first demonstration in humans,
that the vaccine candidate antigen, MSP 1, does induce the production
of antibodies that are known to be protective. The integration
of our studies in the field and in the laboratory has enabled
us to make significant contributions to the development of a vaccine
against malaria. As people who live and work at the coal face
of malaria with responsibilities for clinical, laboratory, and
other aspects of the disease, our work with the NIMR is of vital
importance to us.
Beyond the work on malaria vaccines our collaborations
with Mill Hill are growing.
For example, we have a joint application at
the Gates Foundation "Grand Challenges in Global Health"
entitled "Design and implementation of an automated malaria
diagnosis toolkit". If the proposed approach is successful
it will have a profound impact in this important area, both in
the clinic and for research in the field. Naturally, we are also
interested in the research programmes at NJMR relating to Tuberculosis
and HIV/AIDS. Related to this, we are starting new postgraduate
research degree programmes focusing on Aids, Tuberculosis &
Malaria (ATM). As you are probably aware, these three diseases
have been recognised globally as requiring special targeted attention.
As to the importance of promoting cross-fertilisation
of ideas between clinicians and basic scientists, I am sure the
staff at Mill Hill have articulated very well how this is currently
being ensured. However, kindly permit me to point out that the
necessary integration of clinical, and laboratory approaches to
a given problem depends more on the attitudes and habits of those
concerned than their being on the same campus. Thus, Dr Tony Holder
has already visited our hospital and laboratories in Nigeria twice
as part of our collaboration which has taken a number of us, including
myself, to work in the Mill Hill laboratories.
In a few words, please do not allow disruption
of the work at NIMR, Mill Hill. Its good works extend far beyond
the shores of the UK.
22 November 2004
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