Collaborative Research: IRES: Development of Novel Paper-Based Devices to Assess the Quality of Pharmaceuticals and Water in the Developing World

合作研究：IRES：开发新型纸质设备来评估发展中国家的药品和水质量

• 批准号: 1559496
• 负责人: Toni Barstis
• 金额: $ 19.45万
• 依托单位: St Mary's College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1559496&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; IRES; Development; Novel

This IRES student training project will support research experiences in Nepal and Kenya by a total of 15 students (12 undergraduate and 3 graduate students) over three years. The students will develop, produce and evaluate paper-based devices used to test pharmaceutical quality and water quality. The primary goal of the project is to help students become more passionate about the power of science and engineering to solve global challenges while also developing valuable analysis and design skills. The project is led by principal investigator (PI) Dr. Toni Barstis of St. Mary's College, with co-PIs Dr. Reena Lamichhane Khadka and Dr. Donald Paetkau also of St. Mary's, and Dr. Marya Lieberman of the University of Notre Dame. The international mentors are Dr. Basant Giri of the Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences in Nepal, and Dr. Beatrice Jakait and Dr. Sonak Pastakia of the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare program (AMPATH) in Kenya. Estimates suggest that in developing countries such as Nepal and Kenya up to 30% of the medicines are falsified or substandard and up to 90% of the water sources may be contaminated with bacteria. However, most tests used in the U.S. to evaluate water or pharmaceutical purity are too complicated for use in developing countries, requiring steady power sources, ultrapure water or other expensive materials. The paper-based assays that this project will develop and evaluate are low-cost, require only small volumes of liquid, use readily available materials, and require no power source. The devices and this training have potential value anywhere a cheap, easy to use testing method is needed. Through this project U.S. students will have the opportunity to build competency as global scientists and engineers by developing collaborative relationships with students and research mentors in Nepal and Kenya, and seeing how their scientific knowledge can make a difference in communities. Applicants will be primarily chosen from St. Mary's College, an all-women liberal arts college, and from alumni of a Notre Dame REU that targeted students from primarily undergraduate institutions and included many women, first generation-to-attend-college students and underrepresented minorities, providing strong potential for this project to include a diverse range of student participants. Three cohorts of U.S. students will conduct research in the summers of 2017-2019 to develop paper-based, milli-fluidic analytical devices (PADs) to analyze pharmaceuticals and drinking water. Students will design and field-test the devices, comparing the outcomes from the PADs with "gold standard" analytical methods including High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Mass Spectrometry (MS). Students will work at sites in Nepal and Kenya, where previous international collaborations by the PIs have laid the groundwork for safe living and working conditions for the participants and where the students can make genuinely useful contributions to ongoing projects led by the Nepali and Kenyan mentors. U.S. students traveling to Nepal and Kenya will first work together at their home institutions designing and manufacturing PADs, while in electronic contact with their international mentors and the international students who will be part of the research teams. The U.S. students will then spend at least four weeks in their respective country collecting samples, conducting field and lab testing, engaging in cultural activities, and meeting with experts and community members impacted by the research. Students will also be in electronic contact with the other country group to compare data and experiences during the time abroad. The summer program will conclude at the home institutions with further analyses and data validation, presentation locally and with international students electronically, and report preparation for presentation to the appropriate country agencies. Users of the research results may include: WHO RapidAlert Network, the Nepali Department of Drug Administration, the Nepal Water Supply Corporation, UNICEF-Nepal, and the Kenyan Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

这个IRES学生培训项目将在三年内支持总共15名学生（12名本科生和3名研究生）在尼泊尔和肯尼亚的研究经验。学生将开发，生产和评估用于测试药品质量和水质的纸基设备。该项目的主要目标是帮助学生对科学和工程的力量更加热情，以解决全球挑战，同时培养有价值的分析和设计技能。该项目由首席研究员（PI）圣玛丽学院的Toni Barstis博士领导，共同PI的Reena Lamichhane Khadka博士和Donald Paetkau博士也来自圣玛丽学院，以及圣母大学的Marya Lieberman博士。国际导师是尼泊尔加德满都应用科学研究所的Basant Giri博士和肯尼亚提供医疗保健机会的学术模式方案的Beatrice Jakait博士和Sonak Pastakia博士。据估计，在尼泊尔和肯尼亚等发展中国家，多达30%的药物是伪造或不合格的，多达90%的水源可能受到细菌污染。然而，在美国用于评估水或药物纯度的大多数测试对于发展中国家来说过于复杂，需要稳定的电源，超纯水或其他昂贵的材料。该项目将开发和评估的基于纸张的检测方法成本低，只需要少量的液体，使用现成的材料，不需要电源。这些设备和这种培训在任何需要廉价、易于使用的测试方法的地方都有潜在的价值。通过这个项目，美国学生将有机会通过与尼泊尔和肯尼亚的学生和研究导师建立合作关系，并了解他们的科学知识如何在社区中发挥作用，从而培养全球科学家和工程师的能力。玛丽学院，一个全女子文理学院，并从圣母大学REU的校友，主要针对本科院校的学生，包括许多妇女，第一代参加大学的学生和代表性不足的少数民族，为这个项目提供强大的潜力，包括各种各样的学生参与者。三组美国学生将在2017年至2019年的夏天进行研究，以开发基于纸张的毫流体分析设备（PAD）来分析药物和饮用水。学生将设计和现场测试设备，比较PAD的结果与“金标准”分析方法，包括高效液相色谱法（HPLC）和质谱法（MS）。学生将在尼泊尔和肯尼亚的地点工作，在那里，PI以前的国际合作为参与者的安全生活和工作条件奠定了基础，学生可以为尼泊尔和肯尼亚导师领导的正在进行的项目做出真正有用的贡献。前往尼泊尔和肯尼亚的美国学生将首先在他们的家乡机构一起设计和制造PAD，同时与他们的国际导师和国际学生进行电子联系，他们将成为研究团队的一部分。然后，美国学生将在各自国家花费至少四周时间收集样本，进行实地和实验室测试，参与文化活动，并与受研究影响的专家和社区成员会面。学生还将与其他国家组进行电子联系，以比较在国外期间的数据和经验。暑期课程将在国内机构结束，进一步分析和数据验证，在当地和国际学生电子演示，并准备报告提交给适当的国家机构。研究结果的用户可能包括：世卫组织快速预警网络、尼泊尔药物管理局、尼泊尔供水公司、儿童基金会尼泊尔办事处以及肯尼亚药剂和毒药管理局。