Recent news
February 2012
Science Speaks highlights CDC’s work in global health R&D
February 17, 2012 --Science Speaks, the Center for Global Healthy Policy blog on HIV and tuberculosis (TB) news, recently started a series of posts to profile the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the important role the agency plays in HIV and TB research and development (R&D). For the first post in the series, Science Speaks interviewed Kayla Laserson, director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)/CDC Field Research Station, about the research that KEMRI/CDC is doing to address HIV, malaria, TB, and other emerging infectious diseases.
Currently, Laserson oversees about 60 projects at KEMRI/CDC including a malaria vaccine trial, work on HIV prevention tools, and a TB vaccine trial with GHTC member Aeras. Laserson stressed that it is important for CDC to play such an important role in these research projects because they have benefits for countries across the globe, including the United States. She used the TB vaccine trial as an example that highlights this critical work.
“The places where TB is most problematic tend to be the same places where limited resources and poor infrastructure make it difficult to do a sophisticated study. KEMRI/CDC has a long history of conducting complicated studies in Kenya. So in this situation, Aeras benefits by having a site where the vaccine can be tested and tested well. The US benefits through participation in a study that has potential benefit to the US without having to be the sole funder. The majority of cases of TB in the US come from people born outside of the US, so the key to controlling TB domestically will be controlling it globally. A vaccine would go a long way toward achieving this goal,” Laserson said in the interview.
Laserson commented on the many significant gains that have been made in recent years thanks to the research being conducted in Kenya and the investments from donors such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
“I’ve been here about six years—the progress has been tremendous. The number of people who are getting tested, accessing care and treatment is really incredible. The numbers keep going up. The number of tests conducted keeps going up. … There are still gaps—people and places that need access—but it really has made an incredibly important impact here in Kenya thanks to PEPFAR, Global Fund investments, and other donors,” said Laserson.
CDC’s own investment in KEMRI, which started 32 years ago, has led to many long-term benefits for the country. During that time, a solid infrastructure of buildings, laboratories, and roads has been constructed that can now benefit many different groups who are interested in conducting research in Kenya.
“Now a lot of outside founders—the [Bill & Melinda] Gates Foundation, Aeras, etc.—see a benefit of investing in the already existing infrastructure and leveraging the existing US government investments. A lot of the things being done, like vaccine trials, are not fundable by the CDC at this moment but benefit CDC—so it’s a nice synergy between CDC and other funders,” said Laserson.
- To read the full interview on Science Speaks, click here
