Innovative research at the University of Virginia School of Medicine to use a harmless amoeba to protect children from dangerous gut infections has won critical financial support from The Hartwell Foundation.
The foundation, which supports early-stage, cutting-edge biomedical research to benefit children of the United States, will provide UVA researcher Dr. Shannon Moonah $100,000 each year for three years. The funds will support his effort to engineer an amoeba – a single-celled organism – to deliver antibodies that can prevent and treat potentially deadly C. difficile infections in young children.
“New options are needed for C. difficile – there is no vaccine to protect at-risk children, and treatments for severe disease are suboptimal. Cell-based therapies like amoebae hold the promise of safe and effective drug-delivery systems,” said Moonah, a physician-scientist in UVA’s Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health. “I am beyond grateful for the generous support of The Hartwell Foundation to help develop this novel approach.”
“We are delighted to have this vitally important research honored by The Hartwell Foundation,” said Melur “Ram” Ramasubramanian, UVA vice president for research. “Shannon Moonah is a great example of the innovative and exciting biomedical researchers at UVA.”
Battling C. difficile
C. difficile strikes 24,000 children in the United States each year, and many more around the world. The number of U.S. cases is growing, prompting the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to classify C. difficile as an immediate public health threat that requires aggressive action. The infection causes severe diarrhea and is especially dangerous to children with health conditions such as cancer, bowel diseases and cystic fibrosis.
C. difficile is typically treated with antibiotics, but children who contract the infection often suffer repeated bouts. For some, it can become incurable, requiring the removal of the large intestine to prevent death.
Moonah, however, aims to protect children from becoming so terribly sick. He would do that by genetically engineering a single-celled amoeba often found in the gut called “Entamoeba.” Entamoeba is a parasite, but Moonah aims to use gene editing to turn it into a powerful ally against C. difficile.
Original source can be found here.
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