‘Medical research must make it to real world’

By Di Caelers (Saturday Argus. Your Health - 17 Sept 2005)

Building a healthy nation is only possible if science is translated into government policy, says MRC head  “Lost in translation” is definitely something South Africa doesn’t want to see happening to its brilliant and relevant research. That’s the point made recently by the head of the top-notch Medical Research Council, Professor Tony Mbewu, when he said that building a healthy nation through research was possible only lithe council’s more than 800 research projects were translated into policy. Science and research results are gaining priority in South Africa with its myriad health challenges, which are almost certainly best addressed by local solutions which consider local circumstances.

More news on this front this week was that an R8 million internship programme has been established to boost the business and management skills of Western Cape scientists. The programme, named Hellfire, is to be funded by Acorn Technologies and Godisa, a joint initiative of the departments of science and technology, and trade and industry. It will see young scientists placed in businesses full-time for a year to hone their leadership and business skills.
They will enjoy the support of dedicated mentors and on-the-job training.
“There is a huge demand for management candidates in the life sciences arena, but there is a chronic shortage of suitably skilled people,” says Acorn chief executive Dr Peter Breitenbach.
For the first phase, only 13 interns from more than 200 applicants were selected, and they will be placed at 10 Western Cape institutions and businesses.
Charles Wyeth, Godisa chief executive, calls the programme a first for “early career scientists”, and says it will give them the tools they need “to cultivate the kind of leadership at the frontiers of knowledge and life sciences that will drive entrepreneurship, and foster massive economic development in the Western Cape”.

Meanwhile, Mbewu has used the launch of the Council’s annual report in Parliament to draw attention to the need to get research results into policy, practice, health promotion and products — otherwise known as “research translation”.
He used the establishment of smoke-free environments in the country as an example of how that works: legislation banning smoking in public places was influenced and supported by the MRC’s research.
Other professional groups, such as social workers, have also been influenced; the implementation of the laws on domestic violence were prompted by the findings of the MRC’s technical report on femicide.
MRC research is also being translated into products, such as patents for new drugs and vaccines, and disclosures of new biomedical public health processes.
Two novel anti-malarial compounds have recently been isolated and characterised from indigenous South African plants, and a total 18 compounds for use in fields such as tuberculosis, diabetes and cancer have been identified.

“The high calibre of the MRC’s scientists is attested to by the fact that they win for the MRC more of the competitive US National Institutes of Health grants than are granted to any other research institution in South Africa,” Mbewu says.
Some of the advances are definitely worth mentioning:
• After evaluating tuckshops at schools, the MRC has developed a manual to encourage and help them change their operations with a view to improving the quality of food sold to children.
• The MRC has developed a new technique for diagnosing multiple-drug resistant TB that is 12 times faster than the current method. Early diagnosis reduces the risk of this form of TB, which is very expensive to treat, being passed on to others.
• MRC researchers have discovered that some paints used on walls and on children’s toys contain high levels of lead with the potential for lead poisoning, and their discussions with the government and industry have led to steps being taken to reduce or eliminate the threat.

All power to them if it means a healthier environment and less disease for South Africans.