Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are the world’s number one killer, bringing hardship across both economically rich and poor nations. The largest burden – 80% (28 million) – occurs in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), making NCDs a major cause of poverty and an urgent development issue.
Join us on Thursday 21st May for our forth-monthly NCD forum with a specific focus this month on lymphatic disorders in developing nations. This forum will highlight the multidisciplinary work that is on-going within Imperial College to study the lymphatic system, and gain further incite into diseases such as podoconiosis (a form of non-filarial elephantiasis).
In the initial hour of the forum, the following three presenters will talk through their research:
Podoconiosis (non-filarial elephantiasis) in Ethiopia: the search for the trigger
Dr Jennifer Le Blond, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Earth Science & Engineering
Podoconiosis (non-infectious elephantiasis) causes major swelling to the foot and lower limbs of affected individuals, occurring in highland areas of tropical Africa, Central America and north-west India. Although the precise mechanism of disease development is not fully understood, previous research has identified contact with volcanic soils to be responsible for disease development. Our research combines geology and medicine and the aim is to find the component within the soil that is likely associated with disease onset, to aid in the prevention and remediation of this neglected tropical disease.
Engineering the body’s sewer system: Developing multiscale models of the lymphatics
John Wilson (BIOENG), speaking on behalf of Professor James Moore, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Bioengineering
Lymph is propelled through networks of vessels that are often segmented by bi-leaflet valves which serve to prevent backflow. Eventually, the lymph propelled by these vessels ends up in nodes where important immunological processes and filtering occurs. Our lab’s work seeks to pragmatically develop multi-scale models of these phenomena using a unique blend of synergistic experimental and computational approaches to gain unprecedented insight into lymphatic function.
Imaging lymph nodes, down to the nanoscale
Drs Alexandra Porter and Angela Goode, Department of Materials
Lymph nodes contain conduits, bundles of collagen fibres that direct lymph and accompanying small antigens to the central regions of lymph nodes for processing by lymphocytes. Currently our knowledge of the structure of conduits comes mainly from two dimensional TEM images; little is known about their 3D arrangements. We are developing protocols to obtain three dimensional structural information of conduit systems, at the ~10 nm length scale, using focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). This information will be used to improve models of the transport phenomena and cell signalling in lymph nodes.
The second hour will be a panel session, where the speakers would welcome questions from the audience to further explore each of the areas presented. This will create a rich environment for debate and with a view to discover possible areas of development.
Also attending: Dr Peter Baxter, Public Health, University of Cambridge