Structural biology adventures in the ongoing development of vaccines and therapeutics for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)
Oluwatoyin Ajibola Asojo, Ph.D.
6:30 pm Reception
7:00 pm Seminar
University of St. Thomas, Robertson B114
Abstract: NTDs are diseases of extreme poverty that infect over one billion people, causing major global maternal-child health problems that hold communities in a cycle of poor health, poverty and underdevelopment. NTDs in pregnancy lead to neonatal pre-maturity and low birth weight, while infected children have stunted physical growth as well as cognitive and intellectual deficits. Currently, the major approach to NTD control worldwide relies on sanitation programs or chemotherapy programs, which have do not effectively control NTDs. Parasitic nematodes remain a problem in the USA, with 13% of school children in Clay County, Kentucky infested with T. trichuria. Moreover, parasitic nematodes remain a health concern for the poor in rural areas of the gulf coast, Appalachia, tribal lands and inner cities, as well as for refugee communities, prisoners, mental health patients, migrant workers, and children in all parts of the country who are allowed to play in soil or sand that could be contaminated. Even the parasites that are currently eradicated in the USA are only a plane trip away in our ever-shrinking global village. There is a vital need for alternative therapies to ameliorate the health of infected people in order to alleviate the economic and social burdens of NTDs. NTDs do not attract the level of research funding or interest relative to their global significance and burden. Ongoing structural studies and approaches to develop new therapeutics and vaccines for NTDs will be presented and discussed.
Biography: Associate Professor Baylor College of Medicine, director of graduate and undergraduate education at NSTM and researcher at the Sabin Vaccine Institute. Education: PhD. chemistry (University of Houston), BSc chemistry and Econs (Trent University, Canada). Previously Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, UNMC; Staff Scientist at Tibotec Rockville Maryland and research fellow at the National Cancer Institute Frederick Maryland.
Research interests: STEM education, rational therapeutics discovery, and protein crystallography and Vaccine development.
Recent highlights: Elected member of US National Committee for Crystallography and chair Database subcommittee; Member 2014 BCM-Ebola Nigeria training taskforce; ACS chemistry ambassador; American Chemical society’s Project SEED summer research internship coordinator since 2001. Awards: Visiting Professorship at CAPES-Fiocruz /CDTS in Brazil; 2006 University of Nebraska at Omaha Woman of Color Award; Gladys Pearson fellowship in pediatric cancer; AACR-MICR award; Keystone Symposia scholarship; GRC Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship for Gordon Research Conference in NTDs; NCI-NIH K01 Career development award. Associate Editor Scientific reports and BMC structural biology; and Reviewer for NSF, NIH, pilot grants (TSU & BCM); and Italian ministry of Health.
