A∙WOL News
November 2009 - A∙WOL Winter Meeting, Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. provided the location for the 3rd A∙WOL Consortium Winter meeting this November which was held adjacent to the 58th annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Both meetings were well attended by the A∙WOL Consortium with A∙WOL members chairing and presenting at the ASTMH scientific sessions. 
June 2009 - A∙WOL Summer Meeting, Singapore
Singapore was the venue for the A∙WOL Consortium Summer meeting this June, which saw members attending from across the globe with attendees travelling from as far as USA, Europe and Africa. The Singapore venue provided the A∙WOL Consortium the opportunity to meet the scientists who are based there working for A∙WOL partners Forma Therapeutics (formally CombinatoRx).
March 2009 - Visit to the A∙WOL field trial activities in Ghana
The A∙WOL Programme is currently undertaking field trials in Ghana, West Africa and in March several members of the A∙WOL Management Committee had the opportunity to visit the field trial team at their base in Dunkwa to observe the trial activities. Recruitment for the field trials was initiated earlier this year in areas endemic with onchocerciasis such as the Dunkwa-on-Offin, upper & lower Denkyira.
Mr Jubin Osei-Mensah explains the trial process to participants
in the local language, Twi.
On this occasion the village of Kubi was visited where patients have been recruited and are receiving trial drugs. The A∙WOL visitors were also invited to view the new parasitology laboratories at the KCCR campus, Kumasi, (left) where patient blood samples are tested and analysed.
December 2008 - A∙WOL Winter meeting, New Orleans
December 2008 saw the A∙WOL Consortium meet for their winter meeting in New Orleans. The meeting was held adjacent to the 57th American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting which provided the platform for many of the A∙WOL Consortium to present their research and to introduce the A∙WOL Project to the wider scientific community.
July 2008 - Royal Visit to A∙WOL Project |
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Left to right: Professor Janet Hemingway (Director of LSTM), HRH Princess Anne, Professor Steve Ward (Deputy Director of LSTM) & Professor Mark Taylor (Director of A∙WOL Project) examine Onchocerca nodules. |
July 2008 saw HRH Princess Anne officially open the new Centre for Tropical and Infectious Disease building in Liverpool. During her visit, Professor Mark Taylor |
(Director, A∙WOL Consortium) presented HRH Princess Anne with an overview of the A∙WOL Project. Her Royal Highness was very interested in the project objectives, particularly the 100,000s drugs and compounds that will be screened and analysed for their efficacy against WolbachiaJuly 2008 - Science in Africa photographic competition winner!
Congratulations go to Prof Mark Taylor for winning the Royal Society photographic competition for the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2008.
The winning entry features Dr. Nicholas Tendongfor preparing blood slides during a Cameroonian field trial. 
June 2008 - A∙WOL Summer meeting, Crete
In June 2008 the A∙WOL Consortium met for their bi-annual meeting on the Greek island of Crete. The meeting was scheduled to coincide with the 5th International Wolbachia Conference taking place in the village of Kolymbari. The twice yearly A∙WOL meetings provide the opportunity for the global consortium to share research and to plan for the future 6 months. The meeting was well attended and has generated may new research aims and objectives for the A∙WOL Project. The consortium will meet again in New Orleans in December.
April 2008 - Onchocerciasis control - Vision for the Future, Ghana
In April, Prof Mark Taylor hosted a 3 day workshop in Ghana aiming to promote relations between UK, Ghanaian and Cameroonian scientists and to define the research priorities for future onchocerciasis control strategies in Ghana. The workshop was attended by leading experts in the field of Onchocerciasis. The research needed for alternative drug and treatment regimes (including treatment in areas where there is evidence of resistance) and research priorities for future control strategies were defined at the workshop. A series of papers and reports will be submitted to international journals to highlight the conclusions drawn from the research and the suggestions for future control strategies presented at the meetings.
April 2008 - Site Visit to Ghana
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During a recent visit to Ghana, Prof Mark Taylor (Director, A∙WOL Consortium) and several A∙WOL members from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, visited a fishing village near Dixcove in the Ahanta West district. The village is one of several participating in field trials for the A∙WOL programme. The field work, led by Prof Achim Hoerauf (Bonn, Germany) is carried out in collaboration with the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research led by Prof Ohene Adjei. The trials will address drug regime refinement for both lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis.
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Participants are screened to ensure they have the disease. Screening involves blood sampling which allows the detection of the parasite worm and the progression of the disease within the participants’ lymphatic system. In advanced lymphatic filariasis, an ultrasound of the worm nest is taken pre and post treatment to follow treatment progress. Reduction or absence of worm nest is indicative of successful treatment. The work is scheduled to continue in Ghana for the foreseeable future. |
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April 2008 - Happy Birthday A∙WOL
April 1st 2008 saw the A∙WOL Project complete its first year of activity. The first year has been a great success with all consortium members making excellent progress and meeting key milestones well in advance along the way. Congratulations to everyone!
March 2008 - A∙WOL Website Launched
The new A∙WOL website was launched in March 08 which will provide information on the A∙WOL programme. The A∙WOL website has been created to provide information on our programme, to increase the awareness of lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis and to highlight the urgent need for new treatments. The site is managed at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine by the A∙WOL Management team and will be regularly updated to include new journal publications, news items and A∙WOL meeting information. The website has already attracted interest and numerous responses from around the world including correspondence from the USA and India.
February 2008 - Taylor Lab move
Prof Mark Taylor and team moved both offices and labs in February/March to the new Centre for Tropical and Infectious Diseases (CTID) building in Liverpool. The environmentally friendly building has been designed to make as much use of natural daylight as possible, with many of the internal walls made from glass to allow daylight to penetrate to the heart of the building.
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The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine |
The new CTID building is adjoined to the original building by a link bridge |
Prof Mark Taylor and the famous Liverpool skyline |