- Volume 61 , Number 1
- Page: 115–9
News and notes
This department furnishes information concerning institutions, organizations, and individuals engaged in work on leprosy and other mycobacterial diseases, and makes note of scientific meetings and other matters of interest.
1992 DAMIEN-DUTTON AWARD RECIPIENT
Anwei Skinsnes Law receives the 1992 Damien-Dutton Award from Howard E. Crouch, President of the Damien-Dutton Society for Leprosy Aid, Inc.
Joining a long list of distinguished Awardees, Anwei Skinsnes Law comes uniquely deserving of the honor, declared Howard E. Crouch, Founder/President of the Damien-Dutton Society for Leprosy Aid, Inc. The contribution of Mrs. Law has been that of public education. A volunteer on a national scale, her dedication to educating the public has done much to eradicate the unreasoning fear leading to the ostracism of leprosy victims. "A renewed self esteem is as important as a cure," Mr. Crouch said, "and it well describes Anwei's work and contribution."
Anwei Skinsnes Law is still young in years but with many years of experience in the field of leprosy. From childhood in close relationship with her father, the eminent Dr. Olaf K. Skinsnes, she is well acquainted with and versed in the many complex aspects of the disease. While working for her Master's degree in Public Health, she began a 10-year stint of research and writings, producing definitive histories of leprosy in Hawaii, among them "Kalaupapa and the Legacy of Damien," and "Kalaupapa -a Portrait."
Three years of this time she lived on Molokai, closely relating with the afflicted, and it was there she chose to be married in Damien's own St. Philomcna's Church to Henry G. Law, Superintendent of the Kalaupapa National Historical Park. She continues her work to eliminate discrimination affecting today's victims of leprosy, and belongs to many organizations working to restore dignity and acceptance for ex-patients restored to society. Her many documentaries and TV appearances have given her world prominence. Ever a historian, she is presently involved in extensive research on Bro. Dutton while sponsoring seminars on his colorful life, from his birth in Stowe, Vermont, his Civil War days, on through Gethsemene and, thence, to Molokai.
The Damien-Dutton Award salutes her "for her lifetime of devotion to bringing dignity and humaneness to victims of leprosy, and for her years of historical research and writings shedding light on this disease."
Argentina. The JOURNAL has received four books authored by Professor Meny Bergel. These books, Leprosy as a Metabolic Disease published in 1988 in English; Lepra, Etiología, Patogenia, Tratamiento, in 1989 in Spanish; Leprosy, Etiology, Pathogenesis, Treatment, in 1990 in English; and Teoría Metabolica de la Lepra in 1991 in Spanish, are available at no charge from the author at the following address: Prof. Dr. Meny Bergel, Instituto de Investigaciones Leprologicas, Paraguay 1365-2, 1057 Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America.
India. 1989 Dr. Farooq Abdullah Oration Award to Dr. Katoch. The Dr. Farooq Abdullah Oration Award for the year 1989 has been awarded to Dr. V. M. Katoch, Asst. Director (Microbiology), Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy (ICMR), Agra, for his contributions toward the development of ribosomal RNA and rRNA gene-based probes for mycobacterial infections. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 11,000/-.
The oration and the award ceremony will be held in the near future in one of the medical colleges in Rajasthan. The award is given by S.M.S. Medical College, Jaipur (Rajasthan), each year for significant contributions and medical research.
1991 Dr. C. G. S. Iyer Oration Award to Dr. Venkatesan. Dr. K. Venkatesan, Senior Research Officer, Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy, Agra, has been awarded the "Dr. C. G. S. Iyer Award 1991" of ICMR for his contributions in the field of "Pharmaco-kinetics of antileprosy drugs and cellwall lipids of M. leprae."
Acworth RRE Society Award 1991 for Best Presented Paper to Dr. Chaturvedi and Mr. Paul. Dr. Vinita Chaturvedi, Research Associate (Immunology), and Mr. M. A. Patil, Research Assistant (Microbiology), Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy, Agra, were jointly awarded the "Acworth RRE Society Award for Young Scientists for the Best Presented Paper." These papers and the awards were presented at the XVII Biennial Conference of Indian Association of Leprologists, Durg-Bhilai, 2-4 January 1992. Dr. Chaturvedi won the award for her paper "Association of mycobacterial-specific and Mycobacterium leprae-specific antibody levels with clinical activity in tuberculoid leprosy: a comparison of three immuno-enzymic assays." Mr. M. A. Patil got his award for his paper entitled "Correlation between inhibitory effects of quinolones and mycolic acid metabolism of mycobacteria."
Acworth RRE Society Award 1991 for Best Published Work to Dr. Patil. Dr. S. A. Patil, formerly Asst. Research Officer, Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy, Agra, has been awarded the "Acworth RRE Society Award, 1991" for the best published work for his paper "Antigens of Mycobacterium leprae in the cerebrospinal fluid of leprosy patients: detected by monoclonal antibodybased sandwich immunobiochemical assay and avidin/biotin immunoblotting" published in Clinical and Experimental Immunology 84 (1991) 515-521.
Erwin Stlndl Memorial Oration Award 1992 to Dr. Kurup. The Erwin Stindl Memorial Oration 1992 Award has been awarded to Dr. A. M. Kurup, Chief Research Scientist of the Centre for Social Science Research on Leprosy, Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation, Wardha. Dr. Kurup made his oration on the topic "Need for Social Science Inputs in Leprosy Eradication," on 4 April 1992 at the Greater Calcutta Leprosy Treatment and Health Education Scheme (GRECALTES) Training Centre, Calcutta.
For the first time since its inception in 1984, the award has gone to a social scientist.
Workshop on Social Science Research on Health Education in Leprosy. A workshop on Social Science Research on Health Education in Leprosy, organized by the Centre for Social Science Research on Leprosy (CSSRL), Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation (GMLF), was held in Pune 17-19 February 1992. Nearly 40 participants including some from abroad attended the workshop. Prof. Jayashree Ramakrishna of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, directed the workshop. Eight papers were presented in the plenary sessions of the workshop. -Introduction from Indian J. Lepr. 64 (1992) 568
Switzerland. TDR Research Training Grants, 1993. The UNDP/World Bank/ WHO Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) invites applications for research training grants to be awarded in 1993 to researchers from countries where TDR "target diseases" - malaria, leprosy, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease-are endemic. (As a matter of policy, TDR cannot provide funds for the training of scientists who are nationals of developed countries.) These grants are awarded to enable researchers to acquire skills related to one or more of the above diseases, such as molecular and cell biology, immunology, parasitology, epidemiology, clinical pharmacology and the social sciences.
Applications for training in research on the following topics are particularly welcome:
- Molecular entomology, aimed at introducing molecular genetic approaches and technologies to medical entomology, especially for the study of Plasmodium behavior in vectors and the possible genetic modification of the mosquito so as to disrupt the malaria parasite's life cycle.
- Product development in such areas as synthetic chemistry, novel systems for screening compounds against the above TDR target diseases, process development and different genetic vector expression systems.
- Health economics, related-for example-to direct and indirect costs imposed by the TDR target diseases, the cost-effectiveness of different control strategies, the impact of changes in health care financing on the control of tropical diseases, innovative financing of programs for controlling the TDR target diseases, etc.
- Women and tropical diseases, especially in relation to (a) women's health-seeking behavior and decision-making within their households; (b) gender differences in clinical manifestations; and (c) interventions, using formal and informal educational systems, that might increase women's knowledge of tropical diseases.
The research training grants can be used to help a researcher join an established training program (whether or not in the applicant's own country) culminating in a doctoral degree or an individualized training program in a center for research and training in tropical diseases. Support for attendance at a master's degree course abroad will be considered in exceptional cases. Grants supporting research training for a doctoral degree are awarded for a maximum of 3 years; grants supporting other types of research training are generally awarded for 6 months to a year.
Those eligible to apply for TDR research training grants include:
- staff members of an institution that is currently receiving a TDR institutionstrengthening grant or that has ceased receiving such support within the past 3 years;
- scientists from other institutions in countries where a TDR target disease is endemic, who are already engaged in research or committed to undertaking research on one or more of the TDR target diseases and whose home institution possesses the necessary research facilities;
- staff members of health ministries who are involved in the planning, implementation or evaluation of programs set up to control a TDR target disease;
- scientists with postgraduate research training who are actively involved in postdoctoral clinical, field or laboratory research on a TDR target disease and who wish to spend up to a year in a research center or laboratory ungrading their skills or conducting specialized experiments or data analyses;
- scientists who are registered in their own country for a Ph.D., whose thesis is related to a TDR target disease and who wish to spend 6 months to a year in a research center or laboratory upgrading their skills in conducting specialized experiments or data analyses.
For further information contact Dr. J. A. Hashmi, TDR, WHO, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland.
U.K. Teaching and learning materials for leprosy, TAMILEP. An English language booklist of teaching and learning materials for leprosy is available from the Leprosy Mission International, 80 Windmill Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 OQH, U.K. A wide range of materials is listed for leprosy specialists, general practitioners, medical students, paramedical professionals, senior health workers, nurses, junior health workers, program managers and trainers.
The Philippines' Manual of Training; MDT for leprosy available. Among many manuals produced by national programs, the one from The Philippines (1987) is notably comprehensive and well written and could be used as an example for other countries. Apart from standard, basic information, there are chapters on operational aspects of multidrug therapy, monitoring, supervision and evaluation. It is distributed by TAL-MILEP by the Leprosy Mission International, 80 Windmill Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 OQH, England.
U.S.A. Lechat inaugurates John H. Hanks Lectureship Program. Dr. Michel F. Lechat, eminent leprologist and Dean of the School of Public Health, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, was the featured speaker at the inaugural John H. Hanks Lectureship Program hosted in September 1992 by the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Honoring Dr. John Hanks and his distinguished work in this field, friends and associates established the fund in 1991 to support periodic lectures in his name. The subject of the inaugural lecture was "Leprosy: Can It Be Cured?"
Currently adviser to the World Health Organization in some 24 countries, Dr. Lechat originally was medical director of the Iyonda Leprosarium in Belgian Congo (now Zaire), caring for 1200 patients (1953- 1959). Invited to the United States in 1960, he worked with Dr. Hanks at the Leonard Wood Memorial Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.
Going on to studies in epidemiology, he earned MPH and DPH degrees in 1963 and 1966, respectively. There followed 2 years as an epidemiologist for the Pan American Organization in Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti, then he returned to Belgium to head the Department of Epidemiology, LCU School of Public Health where, in 1983, he was named Dean.
A distinguished member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine, Dr. Lechat has served as President of the International Leprosy Association (1978-1988). He was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars, 1991. His major research activities involved the development of an epidemiometric prevision and simulation model for leprosy. In addition to his many fields of activity, Dr. Lechat serves as director of the Research Center on Disaster Epidemiology, and was the first to suggest that this be applied to improving disaster preparedness and response.
Also featured at the Inaugural Hanks Lecture was the unveiling of a plaque attesting to the renaming of the emeritus room, "Hanks Room," in memory of one who served so long and so well the cause of science and victims of leprosy.
U.S.A. PATH offers major equipment for peripheral laboratories. In the series Health Technology Directions, the Program for Appropriate Technology for Health (PATH), 4 Nickerson Street, Seattle, WA 98109- 1699, U.S.A., has recently produced an issue which discusses major pieces of laboratory equipment used in district and health center laboratories in developing countries. The information is very practical, and there is a list of materials available, other resources of supply and information. Previous issues cover such topics as leprosy, tuberculosis, anesthesia, venereal diseases, essential drugs and blood transfusion.
U.S.A. Total HD cases in 1991. Final data for 1991 show 154 new cases of Hansen's disease diagnosed in the U.S.A. Most (48) were diagnosed in California followed by Texas (38), New York City (16), and Hawaii (14). - MMWR 40 (1992) 5