Research Priorities

Home
Brief History
Location
Organisation
Research Priorities
Laboratories
Publications
Contact Us
Related Links

Research Priorities
Malaria

  1. Research on the knowledge, attitude and practice in different Communities as relate to causation, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malaria.
  2. Susceptibility of the parasites to anti-malarial drugs.
  3. Pharmacokinetics of antimalarial drugs
  4. Risk factors in pathogenensis and treatment of severe complicated malaria.
  5. Molecular biology of the Malaria parasite and vector.
  6. Clinical Evaluation of malaria vaccines when they become available
    Onchocerciasis
  7. Socio-Cultural studies on drug availability, distribution and acceptability. c
  8. Effect of treatment on transmission and prevalence rate of the infection.

Schistosomiasis

  1. Rapid epidemiological diagnosis and mapping
  2. KAP studies with respect to causation, diagnosis, effect, prevention and treatment.
  3. Drug distribution studies and affordability, acceptability and sustainability of current control programme.

Diarrhoeal Diseases

  1. lsolation and characterisation of new rural and bacterial agents causing diarrhoea in Nigeria.
  2. Rapid aetiological strain characterisation in epidemics as an aid to appropriate treatment.

Tuberculosis

  1. Definition of the epidemiological characteristics, the risk factors, the strain of mycobacteria responsible and the drug sensitivity profile.

HIV Infections
1 The Institute, being one of the leading centres for HIV research in Nigeria, is undertaking prevalence studies in different population groups and intends to extend it towards strain typing, interaction with other diseases and factors determining rate of evolution of the infection to frank AIDS.

Haemoglobinopathies

  1. The thrust is in the area of pre-natal diagnosis of sickle cell disease as a means of genetic counselling which is a new area of research in Sickle-Cell disease.
  2. Molecular and Genetic Studies on other haemoglobinopathies e.g. G-6-PD deficiency and Thalassaemia will also be tagged on to the Sickle-Cell disease work. The influence of genetic heterogeneity on the clinical course of sickle-cell anaemia will be explored.

Nutrition
The thrust of nutrition research in the Institute is on cereal weaning foods with improved nutritional qualities and with potentials for use in diarrhoea control.

Special Childhood Communicable Diseases
Effectiveness of the vaccines used in the NPI programme will be investigated by way of studies on seroconversion rates.

Strategic Research

  1. Radioimmunoassay work
  2. Determination of immunoglobulin subclasses and their normal ranges in Nigeria.

Biotechnology Research
The studies on genetic variation among local strains of P. Falciparum, isolation of B. thuringiensis lethal to mosquito larvae, molecular epidemiology and genetic studies on antibiotic resistance of local pathogenic bacteria and on food fermenting microorganisms use these techniques.

Second Level Priorities
Leprosy Research
Research to determine factors which affect control of leprosy through the application of multiple drug therapy programmes.

Guinea Worm Disease
The Institute is to initiate a monitoring and surveillance programme in a few previously endemic localities to provide warning signals to the Government if factors that can lead to resurgence are discovered.

Cancer
To study the risk factors for cancers common in Nigeria.