Dr. Yan Ge, Principal Investigator at the ICGEB China Regional Research Centre, has established a dynamic international Diabetes Interest Group.
“Launched in September, the ICGEB Diabetes Interest Group now counts over 70 members, from 15 countries”, outilnes Dr. Yan Ge.
According to the World Health Organization an estimated 830 million people worldwide have diabetes, the majority living in low-and middle-income countries. More than half of people living with diabetes are not receiving treatment. Both the number of people with diabetes and the number of people with untreated diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past decades.
Dr. Emanuele Buratti, ICGEB Scientific Coordinator is an active partner in the Group, which is helping to establish international research collaboration and share valuable, available know-how. “Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha the ICGEB Governor and Liaison Officer of Nigeria has provided strong support in recruiting members”, adds Dr. Ge. “The Group meets online monthly, with members moderating speaker sessions, sharing information, and funding opportunities in the field. The presenters do a great job, and the Q&A discussion is lively and stimulating.”In October, seminar speaker Andrea Nguyen (Nguyen Thi Kim Nhuong), from the University of Health Sciences and Research Centre for Genetics and Reproductive Health (Viet Nam National University) outlined how she has been applying big data and machine learning techniques to develop new treatment for type 2 diabetes which uses Vietnamese medicinal plants. Her bioinformatic pipeline is applicable to other diseases and this led the discussion to consider combination therapy, the challenge of disease heterogeneity, and the need for new individualised treatment.
Ronahy Haidar, MD, from the University of Aleppo Hospital for Internal Diseases, Ministry of Health, Syria also presented her studies on diabetes patients in Aleppo Hospital. While most medications for diabetes are available, there is no biobank facility and therefore, performing genetic analyses are difficult. Dr. Fazli Rabbi Awan (member from Pakistan) shared information about the ARMS-PCR genotyping assay that his group has developed, which is low-cost and easy to perform, making it suitable for low-resource settings.
We look forward to updates from the burgeoning Group.
