West African Leaders, NIH Gather to Discuss Ebola Outbreak

Leaders from West African nations and representatives from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will attend a meeting on September 22 at Thomas Jefferson University to discuss the current crisis and plan future collaborations. Thomas Jefferson University is working with the National Institutes of Health to develop one promising Ebola vaccine candidate that could help prevent the spread of the disease.

Speakers at the event will include Daouda Diabate, ambassador from the Ivory Coast, Solange Ngazoa Kakou, PhD, of the Pasteur Institute, as well as Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health System and Matthias J. Schnell, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, director of the Jefferson Vaccine Center and co-inventor of the Jefferson Ebola vaccine with the NIH/NIAID. Kathleen E. Squires, MD, professor of medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College, will also speak.

Speakers will discuss the current status of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, including efforts to contain and prevent the spread of the disease. Schnell will address the current and future therapeutic strategies for the infection as well as work being done at Jefferson and the NIH on a promising vaccine approach.

Source: Thomas Jefferson University