Event

The Department of Preclinical Sciences invites you to a research seminar entitled, “Development and Evaluation of Molecular Diagnostic Tests for Dengue Virus”, presented by visiting lecturer, Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The seminar takes place at Amphitheatre B of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC), Mt. Hope.

Abstract:

Dengue virus (DENV) is the most common vector-borne viral pathogen worldwide.  Infection with DENV results in a broad range of clinical manifestations, from asymptomatic infection to classical dengue fever (DF) and severe dengue, a category that includes dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).  Given the breadth of presenting symptoms, DENV infection cannot be reliably distinguished from other causes of a systemic febrile illness without specific diagnostic tests.  To this end, our laboratory has developed two, new nucleic acid amplification tests for DENV identification from plasma and serum: an internally-controlled assay for pan-DENV detection and a single-reaction, multiplex assay for DENV serotyping. The analytical and clinical evaluation of these assays will be described.  The potential impact of the implementation of these tests on dengue diagnosis, epidemiologic surveillance, and health care costs will be also discussed.

About Dr. Pinsky:

Dr. Benjamin Pinsky earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University and then completed the MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Washington School Of Medicine in Seattle.  He did his residency in Clinical Pathology followed by a Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he now holds a dual appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and the Department of Medicine, through the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine.  He is also the Medical Director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at the Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.  His research focuses on the design of novel viral diagnostics and investigation of the clinical relevance of viral molecular testing.