Welcome to our newsletter! This quarter at CHRF has been exciting and full of milestones. We received our first NIH R01 grant to study how phages determine the spread of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. For a better global understanding of phages, we published our in-house protocol for genomic DNA extraction and sequencing library preparation from phage stock, now available online. Finally, our Building Scientists for Bangladesh program has now reached over 500 students. Dive in for more details!
CHRF Awarded Prestigious 5-Year NIH R01 Grant for Pioneering Typhoid Research
CHRF is thrilled to announce that we have been awarded our first 5-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Project Grant (R01)! Securing such a grant is a rare feat for low and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially for projects designed and written solely by local scientists. Our achievement demonstrates that world-class, impactful research can be conducted right here in Bangladesh!
At CHRF, we are conducting nationwide surveillance of typhoid by analyzing viruses in sewage water. Our phage and genomics teams have developed an in-house sequencing protocol to decode the hidden world of phages. The protocol provides a cost-effective method for propagating phages from stock, extracting DNA, and preparing sequencing libraries, which are then sequenced using the Illumina iSeq100.
Studying Chronic Respiratory Diseases in Rural Communities - CHRF at 12th IPCRG Conference
At the 12th International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) World Conference in Athens, Greece, CHRF's Research Investigator, Mr. Samin Huq, shared insights from our study in Bangladesh on the burden of chronic respiratory diseases in rural communities.
He presented an abstract titled "Prevalence and Determinants of Chronic Respiratory Diseases at community settings in Bangladesh: Evidence from the analysis of 4CCORD-CRD Bangladesh"
Made a poster presentation titled "Upskilling Primary Healthcare Workers for Lung Function Assessment: Lessons from Chronic Respiratory Burden Estimation in a Rural Community of Bangladesh"
Learning and Sharing at the 2024 HCA Single-Cell Omics Workshop, Bangkok
CHRF has pioneered the introduction of single-cell genomics technology in Bangladesh. But given that this technology is new to our scientists as well, one of our Research Officers, Mr. Preonath Chondrow Dev, attended a workshop on Single-Cell Omics computational and experimental design tools and techniques. This workshop, organized by the Human Cell Atlas, took place from June 24-28th. It aimed to equip participants with the technical skills necessary to apply single-cell genomics to their current and future research projects. During the workshop, Mr. Preonath had the opportunity to present a poster summarizing the data generated by our single-cell genomics facility and detailing our efforts to build an atlas of Nasopharyngeal Mucosa to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection.
We Finally Reached the Milestone of Training 500+ Students! + Launch of new BSB website and portal
In 2022, we launched the Building Scientists for Bangladesh (BSB) initiative with a small pilot program, uncertain of its future impact. Today, the program has successfully trained over 500 students from more than 100 institutions, achieving a gender ratio of 65% female and 35% male participants.
Coincidentally, within the span of one week, we not only completed the training of 500+ students but also launched our new BSB website and digital application portal.
Visit our new BSB website below and apply to our upcoming programs through the portal.
CHRF serves as a shadow site for CAMO-net, where they study the impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Bangladesh and worldwide. Recently, the CAMO-net team visited CHRF and interviewed Dr. Senjuti Saha and Dr. Yogesh Hooda about the research conducted at CHRF, which is now on their YouTube page.
When scientists become friends, amazing things happen! We are delighted to have had the opportunity to host some brilliant minds at CHRF this quarter.
Christina Sarah Schober is a nurse from Germany's Medizinische Hochschule Hannover and an avid traveler. During her 7-day visit to Bangladesh, she toured our lab sites in Dhaka and Mirzapur, shared her experiences from traveling to over 10 countries, and gave tips on budget travel and solo female safety.
Prof. Gary Darmstadt from Stanford has been a long-time friend of CHRF, supporting our mission for 30 years. During his visit to Bangladesh, he toured CHRF labs, discussed new neurodevelopment studies, and shared his research on emollient therapy and metabolomics biomarkers for gestational age and preterm birth prediction.
Prof. Madhukar Pai is a Canada Research Chair at McGill. He toured our labs and delivered a talk on decolonizing science. He emphasized regional and global collaborations, need for self-sustainability in the global South through local R&D, and encouraged Bangladeshi students to contribute to their country's development wherever they study.
Upcoming training programs and workshops at CHRF
Today (30th June) marks the beginning of the 3rd batch of our Bacterial Genomics & Antimicrobial Resistance Workshop! We are thrilled to welcome young biology enthusiasts eager to enhance their skills in bioinformatics.
In a similar effort to upskill scientists in epidemiology, we are organizing the Epidemiological Methods for Investigating Respiratory Diseases in Bangladesh Workshop, which starts on July 7th. Applications are now open!
We offer various workshops throughout the year. Please fill out our forms to apply, express interest, and receive notifications about upcoming workshops.
Epidemiological Methods for Investigating Respiratory Diseases in Bangladesh (5-day workshop)
At CHRF, we are Building Scientists for Bangladesh by setting up science camps and offering training courses for school students, undergraduates, postgraduates, and professionals. Applications are open all year round!
Child Health Research Foundation (CHRF) Published on April 30th 2024 Welcome to our very first newsletter! It's been an exciting quarter at CHRF filled with milestones: our scientists achieved breakthroughs in single-cell genomics, represented Bangladesh in global conferences, and looked for viruses in sewage water to understand typhoid burden. Dive in for more details! First Single-Cell Genomic Data from Bangladesh As part of the 'Global Pediatric Cell Atlas of Nasal & Oral Mucosa' project,...