The Consortium for Plasma Science Awards Research Fellowship
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- University of Edinburgh scientist, Peter Simmonds, Ph.D., MRCPath, today received a Consortium for Plasma Science Fellowship to support his ground-braking research on the evolution, epidemiology, and potential pathogenicity of a controversial group of novel, human blood borne viruses, called circoviruses. The research focuses on a diverse family of extremely small, non-enveloped viruses that contain only a single strand of circular (closed loop) DNA.
Dr. Simmonds is a Reader in the Department of Medical Microbiology, a research group leader within the Laboratory for Clinical and Molecular Virology, and serves as an advisor in microbiology to the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service. He has earned an international reputation for his proactive investigations on the epidemiology and clinical significance of newly discovered viruses, especially virus infections of the blood; including the pathogenesis of HIV.
"The frequency and range of different circoviruses infecting humans and other animals remains unclear, as is their host range and potential for cross-species transmission. Their ability to cause persistent, often unapparent infection, combined with their great genetic diversity, suggests an extensive distribution in mammalian hosts," said Dr. Simmonds. "TT virus, which has only been described and characterized within the last three years, is one example of a human transmissible circovirus. While it appears to be present in the majority or even possibly, all blood plasma donors, it is currently unknown whether any genetic variants of TTV have pathogenic potential. By comparison, a provisionally assigned circovirus, SEN-V, is claimed to be the agent in many cases of viral hepatitis with unknown etiology," added Dr. Simmonds.
"While the developed world's blood supply is considered state-of-the-art safe and the risk of infection from transfusion has never been lower, the possibility for transmission of unknown or undetected pathogens in source or recovered plasma remains everywhere a serious threat. For this reason, the Consortium seeks a preemptive, universal sterilization solution to the transmission of blood borne pathogens," said Dr. Frederick Dombrose, Executive Director of the Consortium. "Human circoviruses are a recent discovery and we still have much to learn about them. With little information available regarding their susceptibility to inactivation, the Consortium's Scientific Advisory Board believes the fundamental efforts of Dr. Simmonds to characterize circoviruses to be timely," added Dr. Dombrose.
Research Fellows are identified and selected by the Consortium's independent Scientific Advisory Board. Fellows are funded for one year, with renewal possible considering attainment of progress to milestones and the continued relevance of the technology. The Consortium for Plasma Science actively supports research worldwide. It invites proposals from academic and industrial centers of research to apply for funding to pursue a preemptive solution to eradicate known, unknown, and undetected pathogens from the blood plasma supply.
Plasma is the cell-free portion of blood, which contains proteins such as antihemophilic clotting factor, immunoglobulin, albumin, and fibrinogen that are widely used in therapeutic applications. To advance the safety of these plasma derivatives, the Consortium research agenda targets the universal sterilization of whole human plasma against a variety of pathogens; including viruses, prions, and other infectious agents, whose presence in such products could possibly transmit disease.
The Consortium for Plasma Science is co-funded by four plasma fractionation companies, which share safety as a common goal: Alpha Therapeutics Corporation, a unit of the Japanese pan-national Welfide; Aventis Behring; Bayer Corporation; and Baxter Healthcare Corporation. The Consortium, which is a separate entity from its member companies, hopes to accelerate the emergence of new technologies.
Further information about the activities of the Consortium for Plasma Science is available at their web site: www.plasmaconsortium.com.
SOURCE: Consortium for Plasma Science, LLC
WEB SITE: http://www.plasmaconsortium.com
ST: Scotland
This press release may not be redistributed without prior written approval by PR Newswire.