Mummies, Bones and Ancient Pathogens — The Official Conference Poster

Below is the Official Poster for the Ancient Pathogens Conference in Sardinia, Italy.  More posts on the conference are to come including the full conference program.

And until then, here is a link to a past post on pathogens — My search for the Contagion Sign in Toronto.

http://blog.jidc.org/2011/09/16/some-friday-science-fun-contagion/

PDF of the Poster for Download:  AncientPathogensConference_SardiniaItaly

A Plague of Bones: Conference!

Without a doubt, my favourite research project I have ever been a part of is the ancient Pathogens project. This was my research focus during my Visiting Professorship at the University of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy in 2010. This was my Indian Jones moment, except the treasure was not rare artifacts but the discovery of ancient pathogens.

In Sardinia there is an abundance of ancient and medieval mass graves (see burial map).  Although these mass graves data back more than 3,000 years, the reason for the mass grave construction still remains a mystery.  Thereby a fascinating scientific problem exists:  What did these people buried together die from?

Archeology of Sardinia

We hypothesized that by sequencing the nonhuman DNA extracted from the bones and teeth of the victims in the mass graves, we could identify a pathogen that may have infected these people and caused their death.   Our list of pathogenic suspects that may have caused death included Yersinia pestis, Salmonella enterica, Bacillos anthracis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.  This mode of attack, sequencing ancient DNA to determine cause of death, is not new and previous examples include identification of Salmonella enterica enterica serovar Thypi as the causative agent of the ancient plague of Athens in 430 BC [1] and Yersinia pestis as the agent of the Black Plague [2–4] although the later has been disputed [5].   Importantly, mass graves are commonly devised during a disease outbreak to limit the spread of disease, as in Europe during the Black Plague.  Therefore, we speculated that the people buried together in the mass graves of Sardinia died of the same cause, a disease epidemic.  By identifying and studying the causative agent of ancient plagues, we hope to learn about the evolving nature of human and animal modern pathogens so that we can model current and future epidemics.

Since I left Sardinia and my little project, the ancient Pathogen Project has grown enormously.  And that brings us to the announcement of the Ancient Pathogens meeting hosted by Professor Salvatore Rubino in Sardinia, Italy, in September.  The conference is sponsered by JIDC, University Health Network, Shantou University Medical School, Immune Diagnostics and Research, Comune Di Stintino, University of Sassari. This is an exciting opportunity!

Mass grave excavation in Alghero, Sardinia

Titled Mummies, Bones, and Ancient Pathogens, the conference will take place 7-8 September 2012, in Stintino, Sardinia, Italy, at the STINTINO Palazzo Comunale. Over the course of the two days, four sessions on “Archaic and Modern Genomes”, “Evolutionary Medicine, Ancient Pathogens and Pathologies”, “Ancient Pathogens”, and “Bioarchaeology of Sardinia and Sicily” will be held. Several of Europe’s foremost researchers in the fields of Archaeology, Bioarchaeology, the History of Medicine, and Ancient Pathogens are featured speakers, including Prof. Carsten Pusch of the Institute of Human GeneticsUniversity of Tübingen, Germany;  Prof. Bernardino Fantini University of Geneva, Switzerland; Prof. Marco Milanese, University of Sassari; Susanna Sawyer University of Tübingen, Germany; Prof. Raffaella Bianucci University of Turin; Prof. Paolo Francalacci University of Sassari; Prof. Marco Rendeli, University of Sassari; Elisabetta Garau, Unversity of Sassari; Rossella Filigheddu, University of Sassari; and Dr. Alberto Leo Shantou University to name a few. Just to tantalize you, here are some titles of the exciting presentations:

“Archaic Genomes: A Story Written in Neanderthal and Denisova DNA”

“Placing the sequence of “Ötzi the Iceman” in the high resolution Y chromosome phlylogeny by whole genome sequencing”

“Cancer and Infectious Diseases: the Challenge of Soft Tissue Paleopathology”

“Vector-Borne Diseases in Ancient Human Remains”

“The Sicily Mummy Project”

“First Insights into the Metagenome of Ancient Egyptian Mummies Using Next Generation Sequencing”

“Sequencing DNA from Ancient Seeds with Medicinal Properties”

For more information including registration, please visit the conference website http://www.mummiesbonesandancientpathogens.org/  or email Prof. Salvatore Rubino at rubino(at)uniss(dot)it

Reference List

    1.    Papagrigorakis MJ, Yapijakis C, Synodinos PN, Baziotopoulou-Valavani E (2006) DNA examination of ancient dental pulp incriminates typhoid fever as a probable cause of the Plague of Athens. Int J Infect Dis 10: 206-214. S1201-9712(05)00178-5 [pii];10.1016/j.ijid.2005.09.001 [doi].

2.    Raoult D, Aboudharam G, Crubezy E, Larrouy G, Ludes B, Drancourt M (2000) Molecular identification by “suicide PCR” of Yersinia pestis as the agent of medieval black death. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97: 12800-12803. 10.1073/pnas.220225197 [doi];220225197 [pii].

3.    Drancourt M, Aboudharam G, Signoli M, Dutour O, Raoult D (1998) Detection of 400-year-old Yersinia pestis DNA in human dental pulp: an approach to the diagnosis of ancient septicemia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 95: 12637-12640.

4.    Drancourt M, Raoult D (2004) Molecular detection of Yersinia pestis in dental pulp. Microbiology 150: 263-264.

5.    Gilbert MT, Cuccui J, White W, Lynnerup N, Titball RW, Cooper A, Prentice MB (2004) Absence of Yersinia pestis-specific DNA in human teeth from five European excavations of putative plague victims. Microbiology 150: 341-354.

Impact Factors and Drinks…A Toast to You!

It has arrived!  The Journal Citation Report (JCR) of Journal Impact Factors from Thomson Reuters is now here.  Taking 2 years to calculate, we are incredibly pleased, humbled and grateful for our first received impact factor of 1.19 … 1.19 has any other number looked so good?

I cannot think of a better way to celebrate than with a toast!  This accomplishment could not have been reached without the efforts of everyone.  So I ask you to raise a glass with me, your choice, Champagne, Coca Cola, milk, water…I’ll take a little Prosecco:

“Congratulations JIDC, Editors, Authors, Reviewers and Supporters, I cannot think of a community I would rather be part of or would be more proud to be in.  Since the birth of JIDC in 2007, together we have grown at an incredible rate.  The accomplishments as well as the growing pains have led to the development of an internationally recognized journal, which can only be described as a People’s Journal.  JIDC is truly a journal for every scientist, medic, health-care worker and also for every science enthusiast.  Every step JIDC takes forward is a testament to the how the passions of the individual collectively can move mountains, as indeed science is our passion.  The common thread running through the JIDC community is passion for the development of science and health care.  This passion is irrespective of country, institution, and research focus.  I understand you and you understand me as we seek answers to our Research Questions.  So with an impact factor of 1.19, we raise our glasses …  Cheers to you and your accomplishment! May there be many more to come!  Cheers to JIDC!”

Alyson

Welcome JIDC Brazil Regional Office!

JIDC opens Brazil Regional Office!

It is with great joy that we announce the opening of the JIDC Regional Office in Brazil!

When I was in Sardinia doing a part of my PhD project (My JIDC Post), I had the opportunity to participate in a JIDC meeting that took place in Stintino. It was fascinating, because I could see firsthand how a scientific journal operates and also how much work is behind these publications.
When I returned to Brazil, I thought several times about proposing to Professor Salvatore Rubino the establishment of a JIDC regional office in Porto Alegre. Publishing is very important for our country as well as other countries that are aiming to establish themselves. Also, when I looked through the JIDC archives, I noticed that there were few publications focusing on research conducted in Latin America by Latin American scientists.

In July 2011, I had the opportunity to return to Sardinia (this time for a wonderful vacation) and reconnected with old friends Marco Scano and Giustina Casu as well as meet new friends in Sassari. When I learned that they were going to Argentina for a holiday, I suggested they to come visit me in Porto Alegre to take advantage of a conference at the University where I am taking PhD (UFRGS) to speak a little of JIDC. We spent five wonderful days during which Marco talked to the students and teachers in my graduate program about the submission of papers and also the published JIDC items online. On this visit, we started talking a little more seriously about the creation of a JIDC regional office in Porto Alegre.

And here we are! Announcing the arrival of the Regional Office! Wonderful, is not it? The JIDC Brazil Regional office is strategically settled in the Food Microbiology and Food Control Laboratory, located in the Food Science and Technology Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (ICTA/UFRGS). This Institute was the first specialized food institute of Brazil, founded in 1958.

ICTA/UFRGS offers diverse undergraduate courses in areas such as food engineering, nutrition, pharmacy, chemical engineering, chemistry, and biomedicine in addition to several graduate courses related to food science and food technology working toward Masters and PhD degrees s in Food Science and Technology. The faculty has strongly collaborated with the post-graduation programme in agricultural and environmental microbiology.
The Food Microbiology and Food Control Laboratory of ICTA/UFRGS has several research projects, mostly linked to the investigation of food pathogens and food safety. The projects focus on solving food industry, food services and governmental problems related to food production. The head of this Laboratory is Professor Dr. Eduardo Cesar Tondo, who has been working with Food Microbiology and Food Quality for almost two decades, and is a research collaborator of Prof. Dr. Salvatore Rubino of Università Degli Studi di Sassari.
The main objective of the Brazil Regional office is to promote JIDC awarenessamong scientists, medical doctors, students and the general community of Brazil and neighboring countries, as well as to help all the colleagues of JIDC in scientific activities related to Brazil and Latin America.
We happily acknowledge the visit by Marco and Giustina, cultured and wonderful people, who showed great curiosity to know our country and customs. We are grateful to Marco Scano for his informative seminars which solidified the decision to implement the regional office in Porto Alegre. We especially thank Dr. Salvatore Rubino and the rest of the JIDC team for their confidence in our ability to join them in their endeavours.

Birthdays, TB and Thank yous! JIDC News — January 2012

As you read last week, I am looking forward to New Science Year 2012.

One reason for my excitement is the January 2012 edition of JIDC, which is a special issue on TB. I will be featuring posts this month and in February on TB to coincide with the TB JIDC issue, including a TB post from Amber, our Editor’s Picks contributor.

This year also marks JIDC’s fifth birthday! Happy Birthday, JIDC! August 2012 will be the official anniversary of our first issue, which was published in August of 2007.

Editor-in-Chief Salvatore Rubino has written an excellent editorial on the five years of JIDC in the current January issue, which you can read here. In summary, Prof. Rubino describes the tremendous growth of JIDC as the journal moved from a bimonthly format to monthly format and notes our acceptance into PubMed in 2009 –  a major accomplishment that allows the articles by our authors to reach a wide professional audience.

Importantly JIDC could not function without the extraordinary contributions from scientists, writers, educators, health officials and students worldwide. There is no doubt that JIDC would not be as successful without these people.

Manuscript reviews are a critical component of a functioning scientific community. A reviewed and accepted manuscript signifies scientific studies and findings that have been acknowledged by experts in the field. As a scientist, having your work reviewed allows the perspectives of others to inform your work and identify possible flaws in the methods, results and/or interpretations. Reviewers’ suggestions and manuscript discussion can often lead to improved research since it is not always possible to have an unbiased view of your own work from the inside and out. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the global scientific community by reviewing JIDC manuscripts in 2011. Below you can see that JIDC reviewers are international experts representing 65 countries acround the globe. I find this truly amazing.

Lorena Abadia-Patino (Venezuela) , Ibrahim Abdel-Messih (Italy), Yusuf Abdu Misau (Nigeria), Hikmate Abriouel (Spain), Ishag Adam (Sudan), Mohammad Aghasadeghi (Iran), Kabiru Akinyemi (Nigeria), Onoja Akpa (Nigeria), Bolajoko Aina (Nigeria), Raquel Almansa (Spain), Sitara Ajjampur (India), Carlos Alencar (Brazil), Abdulghani Alsamarai (Iraq), Patricia Agaba (Nigeria), Saurabh Agarwal (India), Deepak Aggarwal (United States), Jaffar Al-Tawfiq (Saudi Arabia), Carlos Amabile-Cuevas (Mexico), Malaka Amer (Saudi Arabia), Ben Amos (Tanzania), Vicente Antonello (Brazil), Maria Appleman (United States), Liana Ariza (Brazil), George Araj (Lebanon), Antonio Arbo (Paraguay), Carmen Ardanuy (Spain), Elisabete Arrese (Spain), Ifedayo Adetifa (Gambia), Samar Al-Nahhas (Syria), Ibrahim Al-Traif (Saudi Arabia), Jazzmin Arrivillaga (Venezuela), Myo Aung (Thailand), Reham A. Aziz (Egypt), Sina Aziz (Pakistan) Ahmed Al-Naaimi (Iran), Clement Azodo (Nigeria), Parisa Badiee (Iran), Ahmet Balik (Turkey), Frederick Baliraine (United States) , Kristin Banek (Uganda), Bita Bakhshi (Iran), Stephen Baker (Vietnam), Mustafa Bakir (Turkey), Fukai Bao (China), Oussama Baraket (Tunisia), Ladaporn Bodhidatta (Thailand), Andreas Baumler (United States), Wafaa Bakr (Egypt), Matteo Biasotto (Italy), Norma Binsztein (Argentina), Joseph Bliss (United States), Eve Boakes (United Kingdom), Steven Bosinger (United States), Giuseppe Botta (Italy), Zulkif Bozgeyik (Turkey), Maria Braoudaki (Greece), John Bremner (Australia), Rama Bhunia (India), Mathilde Boon (Netherlands), Franco Buonaguro (Italy), Cyrille Bisseye (Burkina Faso), Jorge Cabral (Portugal), Adrian Canizalez-Roman (Mexico), Jean-Philippe Chippaux (France), Andrea Carai (Italy), Nishat Chowdhury (Bangladesh), Lance Christiansen (United States), Phillip Collier (United Kingdom), Mauro Colombo (Italy), Daniela Ceccarelli (Italy), Solmaz Celebi (Turkey), Changfa (Clark) Cui (United States), Marie Chattaway (United Kingdom), Giancarlo Ceccarelli (Italy), Ricardo Correa (Panama), Carlos Canelo-Aybar (Peru), Nikoloz Chkhartishvili (Georgia), Rajesh Chudasama (India), Celso Cunha (Portugal), Nihar Dash (United Arab Emirates), Terezinha da Silva Leitao (Brazil), Monica da Silva-Nunes (Brazil), Barun Kumar De (United States), Monorama Deb (India), Debmita Debdas (India), Bouke De Jong (Belgium), Mireya de la Garza (Mexico), Giovanni Delogu (Italy), Jacobus de Waard (Venezuela), Elisa Deriu (United States), İlker Devrim (Turkey), Antonina Dolei (Italy), Gerusa Dreyer (Brasil), Maria Drogari-Apiranthitou (Greece), Milena Dropa (Brazil), Renu Dutta (India), Shanta Dutta (India), Mohamad Elsweify (Saudi Arabia), Atef El-Gendy (Egypt), Sabry El-Naggar (Egypt), Şevval Eren (Turkey), Abdul-Naser Elzouki (Libya), Teresa Estrada-Garcia (Mexico), Mônica Facanha (Brazil), Heriberto Fernandez (Chile), Joseli Ferreira (Brazil), Parissa Farnia (Iran), Mel Figtree (Australia), Joseph Forbi (Nigeria), Lucia Galli (Italy), R. Glenn Gaston (United States), Gerardo González-Rocha (Chile), P. Grabarczyk (Poland), Javier Garaizar (Spain), Marina Giuliano (Italy), Deniz Gur Akman (Turkey), Tayyaba Ijaz (Pakistan), Noyal Joseph (India), Yadav Prasad Joshi (Nepal), Wafa Habbal (Sirya), Xiang Han (United Stetes), Azian Harun (Malaysia) , Abdul Haque (Pakistan), Zahra Hasan (Pakistan), Mary Hoelscher (United States), Richard C. Huard (United States), Entesar Husain (Kuwait), Murat Kapan (Turkey), Ismail Kapicioglu (Turkey), Oguz Karabay (Turkey), Salim Abdool Karim (South Africa), Supaletchimi Katherason (Malaysia), Rumeyza Kazancıoğlun (Turkey), Adnan Khan (Pakistan), Karen Keddy (South Africa), Abdullah Kilic (Turkey), Paul Klatser (Netherlands), Diamantis Kofteridis (Greece), Michael Koster (United States), Anil Kumar (India), J. Labbe (New Caledonia), Lincoln Lau (Hong Kong), Sisinnio Leori (Italy), Benedikt Ley (Austria), Ming-Li Liou (Taiwan), Jean Limongi (Brazil), Amanda Loftis (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Zhigang Liu (United States), Chun-Yi Lu (Taiwain), Eric Macy (United States), Emin Maden (Turkey), Evelyn Madoroba (South Africa), Stanley Maloy (United States), Daniel Marcano (Venezuela), Margarita Martinez-Medina (Spain), Humphrey Mazigo (Tanzania), Jacobe Mathew (India), Mark Melzer (United Kingdom), Juliane Meng-Hentschel (Germany), Vitaliano Muzii (Italy), Lucky Moehario (Indonesia), Denise Patricia Mawili-Mboumba (Gabon), Leigh Miller (Thailand), Santosh Mondal (India), David Murdoch (New Zealand), Reggie Mutetwa (Zimbabwe), Nutan Mytle (USA), Joseph Mwanzia Nguta (Kenya), Gholamreza Nikbakht Brujeni (Iran), Vishal Nigam (India), Carla Novais (Portugal), Samuel Ola (Nigeria), Obeid Obeid (Saudi Arabia), A. B. Olokoba (Nigeria), Bianca Paglietti (Italy), Tibor Pal (United Arab Emirates), Dimple Panwar (India), Georgios Pappas (Greece), Violeta Pardío (Mexico), Luis Pianciola (Argentina), Ariel Pereda (Argentina), Alicia Perez (France), Celeste Pérez (Argentina), Cristian Perez (Costa Rica), Mrudula Phadke (India), Guillermo Pimentel (United States), Aggeliki Poulou (Greece), Farhad Pourfarzi (Iran), Audino Podda (Italy), Mayoor Prabhu (India), Pradyot Prakash (India), Zhikang Qian (United States), Manuela Raffatellu (United States), Md Siddiqur Rahman (Bangladesh), Paola Rappelli (Italy), Ayalu Reda (Ethiopia), Ana Carolina Ritter (Brazil), Octavio Rivero (Spain), Alesia Romanovkaya (Russia),Jane Rose (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Joaquim Ruiz (Spain), Suleiman Saidi (Kenya), Eisa Salehi (Iran), Sandeep Saluja (India), Vittorio Sambri (Italy), Amy Sapkota (United States), Sanda Sardelic (Croatia), Shiv Sarin (India), Murat Sayan (Turkey), Dianella Savoia (Italy), Karin Schwaiger (Germany), M Elena Seoane (Spain), Burcin Sener (Turkey), Asa Sjoling (Sweden), Abubaker Sidahmed (Canada), Nidhi Singla (India), Herman Sprenger (Netherlands), Ajanta Sharma (India), Seyed Davar Siadat (Iran), Addmore Shonhai (South Africa), Kirill Sharshov (Russia), VN Sehgal (India), Michael Seckeler (United States), Pierre Smeesters (Belgium), Malini Shariff (India), Wei Sun (United States), Olusegun Soge (United States), Bahman Tabaraie (Iran), Irene Tami (United States), Reda Tagajdid (Morocco), Narhari Timilshina (Canada), Mohammed Timinouni (Morocco), Eduardo Tondo (Brazil), Hasan Ucmak (Turkey), Uade Ugbomoiko (Nigeria), Kingsley Ukwaja (Nigeria), Maria Leide Wand-del-Rey Oliveira (Brazil ), Tjip van der Werf (Netherlands), A Veloo (Netherlands), Tommie Victor (South Africa), Roberto Vidal (Chile), Ha Vinh (Vietnam), Jugsharan Virdi (India), Simonetta Viviani (France), Georgia Vrioni (Greece), Richard Vincent (Madagascar), Francois-Xavier Weill (France), Hannah Wexlecheck (United States), Heather Williamson (United States), Paul-Louis Woerther (France), Asnakew Yeshiwondim (United States), Raffaele Zarrilli (Italy), Dominik Zenner (United Kingdom), Roberto Zenteno (Mexico), Abdulaziz Zorgani (Libya), Pablo Zunino (Uruguay).

And thanks to Editors of JIDC and technical staff including:

 Nikki Kelvin, Marco Scano, Joey Kelvin, Jeff Coombs, Giustina Casu, Nadia Ahmod, Eve Boakes, Mark Cameron, Cheryl Cameron, Antigoni Chaidaroglou, Marie Anne Chattaway, Daniela Chessa, Amber Farooqui, Katy Harker, Jorg Heukelbach, Richard C. Huard, Adnan Khan, Patrick J. Kelly, Gemma C Langridge, Asghar Nazeer, Alicia San José, Helena Seth-Smith, Chengming Wang, Aysegul Karahasan Yagci, Dominique China, Mark David Dickson, Emily Hiltz, Lisa M. Lambert, and Eva Molak.

 Special acknowledgement to Senior Editor Aysegul Karahasan Yagci!

We also thank the financial supports of JIDC.  Without financial support, JIDC could not exist:

• Fondazione Banco di Sardegna
• Sardegna Ricerche
• the University of Sassari
• Shantou University Medical College
• the Li Ka Shing Foundation
• the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada.

Alyson