By Tobi Nagel, PhD | Founder & President
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
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