Project Report
| Nov 26, 2019
Gratitude this Thanksgiving
By Tobi Nagel | Founder & President
![Workshop participants celebrating phage isolation.]()
Workshop participants celebrating phage isolation.
During this season of Thanksgiving we want to acknowledge all of you who have supported our work over the past year. Through our Phage Workshops in Africa we have been able to make significant progress toward combating the antibiotic resistance crisis. At the same time, we have also given many African scientists the opportunity of a lifetime, empowering them with specific tools to tackle this critical public health problem. Thank you for partnering with us in this important work!
Over the next few weeks and months we will send you a series of email newsletters, giving updates about the projects our former workshop participants are now working on, as well as sharing some exciting news about the expansion of our work in 2020. Stay tuned!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Tobi Nagel
![Martha and Tobi enjoying time with participants.]()
Martha and Tobi enjoying time with participants.
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Jul 18, 2019
West Africa Workshop Update
By Tobi Nagel, PhD | Founder & President
![Collecting samples from a contaminated stream]()
Collecting samples from a contaminated stream
July 18, 2019
Over the past 1 1/2 weeks, participants of the first West Africa Phage Workshop have successfully isolated phages from local sources in Ghana. They began by collecting samples from a contaminated stream as well as from a nearby sewage plant (always a great source of phages!).
Back in the lab, the participants then learned how to select and characterize phages that can kill specific bacteria. During the next few, final days of the workshop these scientists will begin to sequence the DNA of their isolated phages and learn how to analyze the results using specific bioinformatics tools.
The participants have also developed a network of relationships, providing a strong basis for future collaborative projects. On Saturday they will return to their home countries and begin to share their newly acquired phage knowledge with colleagues in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and The Gambia. We look forward to hearing how their work progresses, and we thank you for helping to make this workshop a reality!
Plans are already underway for our next East Africa Phage Workshop, which will be hosted in Tanzania in early 2020. We are happy to report that we recently won 3 small grants to partially support that upcoming workshop. As a result, we need to raise just $20,000 more to complete the workshop budget. GlobalGiving is providing MATCHING FUNDS TODAY ONLY for donations between $100 and $1000. Please consider partnering with us again to deliver the next exciting workshop!
With much gratitude,
Tobi
![Isolating phages in the lab]()
Isolating phages in the lab
![Dr. Martha Clokie teaching workshop participants]()
Dr. Martha Clokie teaching workshop participants
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Feb 19, 2019
Expanding into West Africa
By Tobi Nagel | Founder & President
![A team of successful phage hunters!]()
A team of successful phage hunters!
Thanks to your support we have been able to expand our work from East Africa: on February 9 we launched the call for applications for our first Phage Workshop in West Africa. Even though the application deadline is not until March 2, we have already received more applications than the number of participants we had planned to include in this Workshop! And thus far the applications have come from 6 countries — word is quickly spreading across the West African region!
Given the strong interest in this Workshop, we may choose to squeeze in a few more participants than originally planned. For each additional $1,500 we raise, we can include 1 more participant in the Workshop. If someone you know is interested in supporting this, please help us spread the word! Thank you again for the support you have already provided.
With much gratitude,
Tobi
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