Vaccine Biosciences

From livestock-fish ilriwikis

Vaccine Biosciences

The Vaccine Biosciences program hosts ILRI's Vaccine Platform (ILVAC) and is dedicated to developing vaccine-based solutions to reduce disease burdens that limit livestock productivity in smallholder and pastoral farming systems among others.

Projects within the group focus on vaccines against a limited set of high priority diseases in the pig and cattle LaF value chains namely, African swine fever (ASF), contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and East Coast fever (ECF). Generic skill sets within the group allows the ability to tackle other disease constraints as they are identified. A project on Rift Valley fever (RVF) contributes to the CRP on Nutrition and Health.

Key Contact Details

Vish Nene - Program Leader

Team members

Vish Nene
Joerg Jores
Roger Pelle
Lucilla Steinaa
Jan Naessens
Richard Bishop
Elise Schieck
Anne Liljander
Nicholas Svitek
Paul Ssajjakambwe
Racheal Aye
Nimmo Gicheru
Edward Okoth
Cecilia Muriuki
John Wasilwa
Elias Awino
Rosemary Saya
Joseph Gesharisha
Thomas Njoroge
Jerome Wendoh
Martin Kiogora
Charity Muthoni Muriuki
Sarah Nyongesa

Projects

  • Providing proof of concept for the development of an inactivated vaccine for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP)
  • Enhanced control of CBPP in Sub Saharan Africa through development of better diagnostics and vaccines
  • PostDoc Project "Accelerating CBPP research towards a better vaccine through the application of synthetic biology"
  • Toward development of a vaccine for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP)
  • Development of a Vaccine for Eradicating Contagious Bovine Pleuro Pneumonia in Africa
  • Characterization of T.parva specific cytotoxic T cells
  • BREAD: A modern approach towards developing vaccines for critical bovine diseases impacting smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Collaboration to advance vaccine control of East Coast Fever (Theileria parva)
  • International cooperation in animal diseases
  • Development of effective rift valley fever vaccines for use in sheep and humans

Events

  • Prof Douglas Weibel and his graduate Student Julia Nepper from the University of Wisconsin will visit the ILRI from the 5th August. Prof Weibel will stay until the 14th August while Julia will stay until 31st August. They will both work with the research group of Joerg Jores in order to develop next generation DNA-based prototype detection devices for livestock diseases and develop a proposal to develop novel diagnostic assays for camels.
  • Job interviews have taken place in the month of July for four new positions in the ECF group, one scientist position, one post.doc position and two technical positions.

Meetings

Training