Dr Alexis Nzila declared Outstanding Senior African Scientist for 2009

Dr Alexis Nzila, a senior scientist and Head of the Molecular Parasitology Group at the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programmme in Kilifi, has won the prestigious European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) Award for Outstanding Senior African Scientist for 2009.

The award was officially announced yesterday at the EDCTP Fifth Annual Forum in Arusha, where Dr Nzila received the Certificate of Recognition and a Cash Prize of 20,000 Euros. The award is aimed at fostering research activities of the winners.

The announcement sent a wave of excitement and pride at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) headquarters. "This award is a statement of confidence and appreciation towards the excellent work being done at our research facilities. Our focus is always delivery of quality health to our people and awards such as Dr. Nzila's are usually by products of our work, which delight all of us," said Dr. Solomon Mpoke, Acting Director, KEMRI.

"Alexis' work on developing anti-malaria drugs from existing cancer drugs is an approach which could bring alternative anti-malaria drugs to those who need them most," says Dr Norbert Peshu, the Director of the KEMRI Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Coast.

Prof Kevin Marsh, the Scientific Director at the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, says "Alexis's work on understanding the mechanisms of drug action and drug resistance is important in the continuing effort to ensure that we have effective drugs with which to treat and prevent malaria. We are delighted that his work has received international recognition."

Dr Nzila has been working on the mechanism of the resistance to antifolate drugs (pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine and lapudrine/dapsone) and on the understanding of their mode of action. One of his research interests has been to look into the folate biochemistry in cancer cells and utilise this information to better understand the malaria folate pathway, and discover new drugs.

Extending on his knowledge on antifolate resistance, Dr Nzila is now working on understanding the mechanism of resistance to other antimalarial drugs including lumefantrine, piperaquine and artemesinin, using phenotype characterisation and whole genome analysis, in collaboration with The Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK.

But winning is not new to Dr Nzila. In 2006, he won the United Kingdom's Royal Society Pfizer Award for "an outstanding, innovative contribution to biological science, including basic medical science, which contributes significantly to capacity building in Africa".

Alexis believes firmly that "there will not be lasting solutions to malaria without a strong contribution from African scientists. Controlling malaria is not simply a matter of distributing bed nets and medication. It also requires planning and research so we can predict what the situation may be like in 5 or 10 years from now. To tackle malaria at a national level, governments need scientific evidence to make effective policy decisions. Without strong research groups, government programmes for malaria control cannot work".

Alexis has every intention of staying in Africa and "building a team that does internationally recognised work".

Read more:

http://www.kemri-wellcome.org/people/researchers/alexis-nzila

http://www.ndm.ox.ac.uk/researcher/alexis-nzila

For more information, contact:

Justa Wawira
Head of External Relations
KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme
Centre for Geographic Medicine Research-Coast
Tel +254 41 7522324/7522063/7525063/7522014/7522154
Fax +254 41 7522390 Mobiles +254 722 203417, 725 242233, 722 747571
Email: JWawirakilifi [dot] kemri-wellcome [dot] org

Notes for Editors

KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya (www.kemri-wellcome.org)

The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme is internationally renowned for its research tackling malaria and other important diseases in Kenya. Safeguarding the health of young children in Africa and their families is the primary motivation of the programmes research. In Kilifi, the Programme is embedded within Kilifi District Hospital, building its research programmes around local medical infrastructure and contributing to healthcare delivery.

About EDCTP http://www.edctp.org/About_EDCTP.2.0.html

The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) was created in 2003 as a European response to the global health crisis caused by the three main poverty-related diseases of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. These diseases account for over 6 million deaths each year, and the numbers are growing. Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's worst-affected region where besides ravaging lives, they impede development and cause poverty.