Yet another feather in researcher’s cap
Kenyan Faith Osier, a researcher with the Kenya Medical Research Institute.
What you need to know:
- Working with colleagues at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, Dr Osier has demonstrated there were potentially many more parasite proteins that could be included in a malaria vaccine than have been studied at present.
- “My work aims to understand how people become immune to malaria, so that we can use this knowledge to develop effective vaccines against malaria,” said Dr Osier.
Malaria kills a child every 30 seconds. That’s two every minute, 120 every hour and 2,880 every day and 1,051,200 every year.
It is one of the diseases that scientists around the world have been scratching their heads over for a long time.
Thousands have dedicated their time, laboratories and billions of dollars to the search for a malaria vaccine. Many have aged and died trying.
More than a century later, though, the much sought-after vaccine remains elusive even as the disease, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), continues to claim a life every 30 seconds.
But, once found, the vaccine will undoubtedly herald a healthier lifestyle for the billions who are at risk of contracting the disease.
Kenyan Faith Osier, a researcher with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) Wellcome Trust Research Programme based in Kilifi, is already making headway in defeating malaria. And she is winning accolades for her ground-breaking work.
Last Tuesday, the 42-year-old scooped the Royal Society Pfizer prize, which was started in 2006 and is awarded annually to a young scientist based in Africa for making innovative contributions to the biological sciences, including basic medical science.
Dr Osier is the second Kenyan to scoop the award after Samuel Kariuki, who was feted in 2012 for his research into invasive Non-Typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections in Kenya.
Dr Osier, who leads a team of young researchers at the Kemri programme, was recognised for her contribution to the search for an effective malaria vaccine.
EFFECTIVE VACCINES
“My work aims to understand how people become immune to malaria, so that we can use this knowledge to develop effective vaccines against malaria,” said Dr Osier.
Working with colleagues at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, Dr Osier has demonstrated there were potentially many more parasite proteins that could be included in a malaria vaccine than have been studied at present.
Their studies in the country also proved that children who made antibodies against specific combinations of parasite proteins had a very low risk of developing malaria.
Dr Osier is sure the world will soon have a malaria vaccine, albeit not as effective as desired.
“Don’t get me wrong: any reduction in the numbers of children dying is a big boost and is hugely welcome,” she said.
“We hope we will be able to contribute to the development of a highly effective vaccine against malaria.”
Although there are effective preventive and curative treatments against malaria, several vaccine trials have been disappointing.
Earlier this year, though, UK-based giant pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline, announced their vaccine may be available next year.
“I welcome the arrival of the GSK vaccine and there is no doubt it will save lives. The vaccine is based on just one of thousands of malaria parasite proteins,” said Dr Osier.
The researcher was nominated for the Royal Society Pfizer award by her immediate line manager and “long-term mentor”, Prof Kevin Marsh.
She was required to propose an innovative research project that could be carried out with a pre-defined budget.
The nominations were then reviewed by the Biological Sciences Awards Committee of the Royal Society.
Besides the Royal Society Pfizer prize, Dr Osier is winner of the Merle A. Sande Health Leadership award which was created in 2010, in honour of the Accordia Global Health Foundation’s founder, Dr Merle Sande.
