LEADING British Asian physician Ajit Lalvani has won the Scientific Prize of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, for his research into the functioning of vaccines against the ailment.

Commending the outstanding research work done by Dr Lalvani, Dr Mario Raviglione, Director General of the World Health Organisation, Geneva, said his latest discovery has helped in understanding for the first time how the 60 year old BCG vaccine functions.

"Our findings show that children can be protected against TB infection by vaccination," said Lalvani, son of Kartar Lalvani, who founded Vitabiotics Ltd.

"Until now, managing TB has always been a two-pronged approach, preventing disease progression from latent to active TB and treating patients with active TB. Now we know we can protect against infection, so it is a three-pronged approach," he said.

Lalvani is Wellcome Senior Clinical Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant Physician in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford. He leads a research group, funded by the Wellcome Trust, to investigate the immunology of TB infection and is also a grant recipient from the WHO.

This is cache, read story here

Posted in login to post comments