When a deadly virus spreads through California after being transported from the African rainforest in the 1995 movie Outbreak, most viewers reacted in horror. But not David Asper. He watched with fascination as the main character, an army medical researcher played by Dustin Hoffman, investigated the virus’s rampant spread. “Later on, once I gained scientific experience, I realized the number of mistakes in the movie,” says Asper. “But at the time, I thought he had the best job in the world.”
It’s no wonder then that Asper has set off on a research career that focuses on reducing infectious diseases. As a graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac), Asper recently devised a cattle vaccine that could significantly protect food and water from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), a microbe that can lead to Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, the leading cause of renal failure worldwide. STEC was also responsible for infections and deaths when drinking water became contaminated from cattle pasture runoff in Walkerton, Ont., in 2000.
“The important aspect [of this vaccine] is the ability to control this organism in cattle,” says Asper, who is currently doing a postdoctoral fellowship in the industry sector. “This leads to a reduction in infections in humans.” Administering his vaccine to cattle would cut STEC off at its source, thereby decreasing its occurrence in the environment and in beef products consumed by humans. The vaccine works by inhibiting the attachment of the bacteria to cattle intestines.
Asper’s find builds on groundbreaking research by his supervisor Andrew Potter, who is the director of VIDO-InterVac, and whose work led to a cattle vaccine for the most predominant STEC strain (0157) in North America. Asper’s vaccine advances this research by protecting against a number of non-O157 STEC strains, which are critical in Europe and South America, where other strains dominate. “This vaccine could be used in a number of continents aside from North America,” says Asper. “It would eliminate having to develop a vaccine against each STEC serotype [strain].”
“David’s work on E. coli O157 and its ‘cousins’ represents a significant advance in our knowledge about how this group of organisms is able to colonize cattle,” says Potter. “More importantly, it suggests strategies that might be employed for the development of intervention methods on the farm.” Potter says the research lays a foundation for the development of a vaccine for cattle that will protect against numerous types of STEC. “From a basic research perspective, this is significant, but it also has very clear ramifications for commercial vaccine development.”
The team is preparing to begin rigorous testing of the new vaccine in cattle and Potter anticipates it should take about two years to complete. It will likely take another two years to register and commercialize the vaccine.
But seeing the vaccine’s potential health and financial benefits worldwide affirms Asper’s choice to pursue a career in science. “It is important to realize that science is a game of patience and determination,” he says. “One will encounter many lows as well as highs. The important factor is to enjoy it all.
