The DOLF Project
Gary J. Weil, MD, co-principal investigator of the DOLF Project, was installed as the inaugural Gerald and Judith Medoff Professor of Infectious Diseases on January 29, 2024 at Washington University in St. Louis.
We are pleased to share the news that DOLF Co-Director, Gary Weil received the 2023 Kyelem Prize at the annual Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD). Described by some as the “Oscar” of neglected tropical disease (NTD) research, this prize recognizes people in the field who have been particularly effective in bringing […]
Dr. Fatorma Bolay, the director of the Division of Public Health Research at the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) has passed away. He was the director of the former Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research (LIBR) and DOLF-Project collaborator since 2011. Dr. Bolay navigated the LIBR through difficult times in Liberia and was a […]
The DOLF Project has just published an article on the spatial distribution of onchocerciasis (Oncho) in Côte d’Ivoire before and after the introduction of mass distribution of ivermectin. This work was based on extensive Ministry of Health mapping and surveillance data collected between 1975 and 2016. Data included village geolocations, village-level prevalence and intensity estimates […]
The DOLF Project (dolfproject.wustl.edu) is proud to announce publication of an important paper on the safety and efficacy of a triple drug combination treatment (IDA) for lymphatic filariasis (LF) in India. With almost 9,000 participants, this was the largest of five IDA safety and efficacy studies that DOLF coordinated with financial support from the Bill […]
Researchers uncover molecular changes associated with treating lymphatic filariasis
The DOLF project has received a 2.4 million dollar grant to support studies to assess the impact of an IDA implementation program in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea (PNG) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . Prior DOLF studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the “IDA” three-drug combination drug therapy […]
The DOLF Project is proud to announce publication in PLOS Medicine of results form a major safety study investigating the use of a triple drug combination “IDA” as a treatment regimen for lymphatic filariasis. The study enrolled more than 26,000 participants in five countries. Results from this study suggest that IDA is safe enough for […]
TRANSLATIONAL AND OPERATIONAL FIELD RESEARCH ON LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS AND ONCHOCERCIASIS Our group at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct cutting-edge research to support elimination programs for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. We are seeking postdoctoral fellows to (1) participate in applied field research […]
DOLF Researcher Dr. Christine Dubray, a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, was the keynote speaker for the Washington University Medical School’s 21st Global Health & Medicine Symposium held on April 17. The title of her talk was, “A global health career on the front lines, and what I […]
At the 2018 GAELF Meeting, Dr. Gary Weil shared perspectives on how the new treatment combination (IDA) could accelerate elimination of LF.
Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) released their fifth progress report on the London Declaration on NTDs. The report describes the progress made toward achieving the goals set out by the London Declaration toward the control, elimination, and eradication of 10 NTDs. DOLF research on a more effective triple drug combination for lymphatic filariasis […]
Today Merck announced an expansion of the Mectizan Donation Program (MDP) to reach up to an additional 100 million people per year through 2025 to support the expansion of triple-drug therapy as part of the global effort to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF). DOLF research showed that adding ivermectin to diethylcarbamazine and albendazole can accelerate the […]
Earlier today WHO published new guidelines for alternative MDA regimens for LF in the Weekly Epidemiological Record. The new guidelines recommend: • Triple drug therapy (IDA) for use in countries using diethylcarbamazine + albendazole (DA) in special settings• Annual ivermectin + albendazole (IA) rather than biannual IA in countries endemic for LF and onchocerciasis, except […]
In March of 2017, DOLF researchers, Ramakrishna Rao and Philip Budge traveled to Galle, Sri Lanka to test a new portable scanner with the potential to revolutionize the measurement of limbs affected by lymphatic filariasis (LF). The scanner, which is produced by the Atlanta-based startup, LymphaTech, uses infrared scanning technology similar to that found in […]
Donors, endemic countries, researchers and program managers came together at the NTD Summit in Geneva, Switzerland between April 19-22 to celebrate progress and set a path towards meeting the 2020 goals for eliminating neglected tropical diseases. Five members of the DOLF team attended the NTD Summit to share important results with the NTD community. The […]
The DOLF project celebrated an important milestone on February 9th. Our Community Based Safety Study of 2-drug vs. 3-drug Therapy for Lymphatic Filariasis completed enrolling and treating 10,000 participants in each of the treatment arms. This achieves the primary objective of the study: measuring the treatment related adverse events following treatment with the 3-drug combination […]
Last November at the COR-NTD Innovation Lab in Atlanta DOLF Project Manager, Joshua Bogus, demonstrated the capabilities of a tablet-based electronic data capture system that is being used in the Community Based Safety Study of 2-drug vs. 3-drug Therapy for Lymphatic Filariasis. This study is set to collect about 30,000 patient data, across 5 countries, […]
Investigators from several DOLF sites met in St. Louis from June 1-2, to plan for new studies that will investigate a novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis.
The 6th Annual DOLF Meeting was convened in Geneva, Switzerland and generously hosted by the World Health Organization. Members of the Technical Advisory Team (TAT), DOLF researchers, and scientific collaborators, met on April 5 – 6 to review progress of the DOLF project and to discuss strategic issues for DOLF and for elimination programs for […]
July 31, 2015 This summer the DOLF team has been busy collecting data from three of our study sites. Washington University in St. Louis investigator, Dr. Peter Fischer, and project manager for operations, Joshua Bogus, were in Côte d’Ivoire for the beginning of the first annual follow-up surveys. For two weeks in June, they joined […]
Top row: Eric Ottesen, Phillip Miller, Peter Fischer, Alex Debrah, Ron Don, Achim Hoerauf, Tom Kanyok, Julie Jacobson, Chris King, Kerstin Fischer, Tania Supali, Sabine Mand, Charles Mackenzie, Dan Goldberg, Kapa Ramaiah, Rao Ramakrishna, Andrew Majewski, Dao-Jun Jiang. Bottom row: Gary Weil, Amy Rush, Yao Sodahlon, Eddie Thomsen, Manasseh Baea, Fatorma Bolay, Amy Klion, Wilma […]
January 28, 2010 By Michael C. Purdy Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a five-year, $13 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve efforts to eliminate two parasitic diseases, elephantiasis and river blindness. These diseases belong to a group of infections known as neglected tropical diseases, which […]