What started as little more than a sequencing machine in a tent has since blossomed into a fully functioning laboratory, where a new generation of scientists will train in the latest genome sequencing techniques to allow them to study infectious diseases in the local community.
- Ian Goodfellow
The research, carried out by two local scientists recently trained in next-generation genome sequencing techniques, will provide vital information about the virus that will help international scientists to identify the potential source of the infection.
The lab at the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) – a collaboration with the University of Cambridge supported by funding from the Wellcome Trust – was officially opened last week by Sierra Leonean Health Minister Dr Abu Bakarr Fofanah.
In the longer-term, the new facility will provide Sierra Leone with a greater ability to identify emerging infectious diseases in the earliest stages, increasing the country’s resilience to future epidemics. It is also expected to become a centre of excellence for research and teaching in the country, which has suffered more than 14,000 cases of the disease since the outbreak began.
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Image: Researchers at the UNIMAK Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory
Credit: Ian Goodfellow
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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