symposium | july 29 -30, 2024 | Freetown City Council Audito

African countries suffer enormous impacts due to infectious diseases (e.g,, half of all deaths in Africa are from infectious diseases, compared to 2% in Europe). Certain agents that cause frequent outbreaks in West Africa (e.g., Lassa, Ebola and Dengue) are virtually unknown in other places. Despite the relevance of basic and clinical research studies and the availability of patient samples and data, most West African nations lag behind in capacity to help combat these epidemics.

As a result, there is great value in increasing opportunities for West African scientists to participate in basic and clinical research -- as independent researchers and as part of international consortia and collaborations1. Within West Africa, some nations (e.g.,Ghana and Nigeria) have progressed more rapidly than others. However, until now there has been little opportunity to bring the entire West African research community together. Sierra Leone is particularly limited in research capacity, but is a principal location of outbreaks of devastating infectious diseases. Also, opportunities are limited for bringing leading African scientists from other nations to West Africa to share research and collaborative opportunities.

The Quantitative Bioscience Institute (QBI) at UCSF (http://qbi.ucsf.edu) is organizing the first international scientific meeting in Sierra Leone, West Africa July 29 - August 3, 2024. The First International West Africa Symposium and Workshop on Infectious Diseases will bridge basic and clinical infectious disease research across countries in Africa, North America and the EU. It will  create connections to policymakers, patients and other stakeholders in West Africa, and focus on key aspects of Ebola, Lassa, malaria, Dengue, Zika and HIV. We expect about 200 researchers, clinicians, patient advocates, educators, policymakers, representatives from NIH, and community-based organizations, including Partners in Health (PIH) and government organizations, such as the Ministry of Health.

This 2-day Symposium will include presentations from researchers in West Africa, the US, EU and beyond and 4 days of interactive workshops. An overnight excursion to Kono will visit a local health and advocacy organization, the Wellbody Alliance, that partners with PIH and others to bring “healthcare as a human right” services to this region, where 1 in 23 women dies in childbirth and 1 in 5 children dies before age 5.

Meeting Objectives

The overarching objectives are to share results and facilitate collaborations of West African scientists and clinicians with each other and the global scientific community. We will provide tactical, hands-on training in  key areas (Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, Molecular Biology and Clinical Research) and build capacity via grant writing and scientific writing instruction and introduction to free public resources at the NIH, particularly in bioinformatics. We expect early career investigators from Africa will find this meeting especially helpful for networking with senior researchers and those from non-African countries -- direct interactions that might not otherwise be possible and which are highly valuable for future research collaborations. It will provide travel scholarships to African trainees and early stage and senior African investigators, with particular emphasis on women and minorities. Decision making will be led by colleagues from African countries who are in tune with current emerging-realities and issues in the region.

Timeliness and Usefulness to the Scientific Community

There has never before been a major open international scientific meeting in Sierra Leone. Few meetings occur in Africa (aside from South Africa). The annual West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) research conference in Accra, Ghana, is a notable exception. As such, our proposed event will dovetail synergistically with that meeting (a WACCBIP organizer will speak at the symposium). Workshops will offer training in clinical research and build research capacity. In short, a key goal is to put West African scientists on the map as owners of their own science and to build capacity and networking relationships to help them flourish.

Symposium Topics and Focus 

The Symposium will focus on infectious diseases. Partners on the ground have outlined topic priorities, particularly those that affect Africa and West Africa, including malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, Lassa, Ebola and Dengue. Sessions will include talks on pathogens, aspects of clinical and basic research and sample management/biobanking. They will introduce approaches and technologies, including CRISPR-based genetics, mass spectrometry and cryo-EM.

Poster Session Topics 

The poster session will cover: (1) HIV transcription and latency, (2) genetics of HIV restriction factors, (3) co-infection expressions of TB and SARS-CoV 2, (4) Ebola virus epidemiology, (5) transmission and evolution, (6) Lassa hemorrhagic fever and pregnancy, (7) health sector fragmentation and impact on strengthening public health delivery, (8) impact of health information systems on national health outcomes, (9) external development assistance, (10) health systems and vertical funding, (11) good laboratory practices guarantee biosafety and (12) other topics will be considered if relevant to infectious diseases.