Claflin University News June 1, 2011 Claflin University's Dr. Omar Bagasra Lays Groundwork to Establish Vaccine Center in Pakistan If you walk down the halls of the second floor in the James S. Thomas Science Center, chances are Dr. Omar Bagasra will either be teaching his students or working in the laboratory aiming to solve some of the world's most pressing health and social issues like HIV/AIDS or cancer. The latest issue Bagasra has tackled falls along those lines. He recently returned from Pakistan where the former S.C. Governor's Professor of the Year laid the groundwork for a vaccine center. Bagasra, the director of the S.C. Center for Biotechnology at Claflin, spent three months on sabbatical from the University developing protocol and training personnel at Dow University of Health Sciences in Karachi to lead the effort to establish a vaccine center there. Usually, Bagasra's work involves microscopes and test tubes. But his latest assignment was a little more dangerous because it entailed handling very poisonous snakes like cobras and vipers. The job was to develop a vaccine for those bitten by poisonous snakes in Pakistan; a country Bagasra notes leads the world in snake bite deaths. "It was a very dangerous activity," Bagasra said. "One time, a cobra slipped out of my hand." Bagasra and Dow researchers isolated and tested the snake venom, which was used to immunize horses from deadly snake bites. The information garnered from Bagasra's research will enable Dow to produce cost effective and functional vaccines for Pakistani citizens who are bitten by snakes. "Pakistan doesn't have an organized vaccine infrastructure," Bagasra said. He also taught and trained doctoral candidates at Dow during his stay there. Under his leadership, the institution's Vaccine Center started addressing other health issues impacting the Middle Eastern nation, such as creating vaccines for childhood illnesses such as measles, mumps and tuberculosis. Importing vaccines for those and other diseases cost Pakistan more than $3 billion annually, Bagasra said. "We started the process to get the ball rolling but it's a long way to go," Bagasra said. Bagasra said his primary role was to teach scientists quality control at the Dow Vaccine Center to ensure vaccines are not toxic and contain the correct dosage. "This will be the first institute in any developing nation to make any childhood vaccines," he said. " Founded in 2003, Dow is publicly funded by the Pakistani government and has established 37 new specialized institutions in the past five years such as an oral health and diabetes centers. It is one of the fastest growing universities in South Asia and has a student population of more than 40,000 students. Bagasra first visited Dow several years ago to deliver a lecture at a microbiology conference. Bagasra was then approached by Dow Vice Chancellor Dr. Masood Hameed Khan about possibly starting a vaccine center there. The conversation sparked Bagasra's interest and eventually led to his appointment as the Vaccine Center's interim director. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.