Helping battle drug-resistant tuberculosis
A Harrison McCain Young Scholar at the University of New Brunswick is studying local plants as a potential treatment for drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis.
Chris Gray, chemistry assistant professor, is working with doctors at the Saint John Regional Hospital to identify promising drug leads.
“The three plants we are using are ones commonly used by the First Nations and have been used in the fight against tuberculosis for decades with no toxic effects,” says Gray.
Tuberculosis cases high
Canadians don’t hear much about tuberculosis (TB) anymore, but an average of 1,600 new cases are reported each year in Canada. It is a bacterial infection that usually attacks the lungs but can attack other parts of the body and can be fatal if not treated.
According to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control, TB is among the world's most deadly diseases, with roughly a third of the global populaton infected with the illness. Roughly nine million people around the world are diagnosed with TB each year. About two million people die every year from tuberculosis.
Drug-resistant strains of the disease have been on the rise since the 1990s.
“There haven’t been any new drugs developed because everyone thought TB was completely wiped out,” says Gray. But in 2008, there were approximately 30,000 cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis reported around the world.
If his research is successful, the plants’ chemical compounds can be patented and taken to a drug company for development, pre-clinical and clinical trials and distribution.
Allowing spirit to flourish
In 2006, the Harrison McCain Foundation committed $1 million to establish the Harrison McCain Faculty Awards at UNB: the Young Scholars Awards, the Visitorship Awards and the Visiting Professorship Awards.
“This award allows entrepreneurial spirit within our faculty to flourish” explains Dr. Eddy Campbell, UNB president. “The Harrison McCain Foundation supports researchers like Chris whose work can have great impact on the lives of others."
Gray’s work earned him a Young Scholars Award valued at $17,500. He said the funding gives young researchers the opportunity to develop new and innovative ideas.
Other recipients of the Young Scholars Awards for 2009-10 are: Jula Hughes to study the reform potential of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; Jeff Houlahan to evaluate the effects of multiple stressors on aquatic ecosystems; Sophie Lavoie for the study of women, writing & revolution in Sandinista Nicaragua; Donna Bulman to explore migratory workers and HIV/AIDS from a New Brunswick perspective; Carolyn Bassett to study pro-worker policy knowledge in South Africa after apartheid; and, Sophie Yao to develop an effective computer-based system to support freehand sketching.
The Harrison McCain Visiting Professorships Awards are valued at up to $50,000 a year and bring exceptional expertise and new perspectives to UNB through visiting faculty members. The Visiting Professorship Award recipients for 2009-10 are: William Harwiin from the University of Reading, UK and Frederic Dimanche from the CERAM Business School, France.
The Harrison McCain Visitorship Awards are valued at up to $50,000 per year and support UNB faculty who take short-term appointments at other institutions and are used to supplement faculty salaries, expenses and research costs.
The recipients for 2009-2010 are: Les Cwynar, science, for an appointment at the University of Tasmania, Australia; Jeff Houlahan, science, applied science and engineering, for an appointment at the University of Ottawa and the University of Cape Town; Karen Pearlston, law, for an appointment at the Kent School of Law in Canterbury, UK; and, Ghislain Deslongchamps, science, for an appointment at Montreal’s Chemical Computing Group.
