SA website wins prestigious international science prize

In the midst of the devastating HIV epidemic, South African paediatricians are treating as many as 100 infected children per day. The overwhelming caseloads provide little time for clinicians to review even the basic information they were offered in medical school on the topic of immunology.

Although this is an area often considered a laboratory science with little clinical application, immunology helps physicians to understand factors contributing to HIV pathology.

South African immunologist, Prof. Clive Gray, recognised the potential value of an understanding of up-to-date immunology in the treatment of HIV, and subsequently developed Immunopaedia, a website designed to quickly and efficiently give doctors a working knowledge of immunology through real-life case studies and news of immunology breakthroughs.

'Quick, useful information is key'

"We have to be cutting-edge," says Gray. "Quick, useful information is key."

The information provided by the website can facilitate the diagnosis of a range of immune-mediated diseases, including HIV, or provide information on the appropriate combination of drug treatments that complement, rather than nullify, each other.

Because of its effectiveness at meeting an urgent need and at presenting immunology in an easy-to-use format for all interested users, Immunopaedia has been selected to receive the SPORE prize.

"What started as a website aimed at connecting the clinical relevance of immunology to the local healthcare setting in South Africa has resulted in a website whose purpose is highly charitable and universal in need," says Melissa McCartney, an editorial fellow at Science, which published an article about Immunopaedia in the issue of 24 September 2010.

A seed for future growth

The SPORE prize was developed to single out the best online materials in science education. The acronym SPORE refers to a reproductive element adapted to develop, often in less-than-ideal conditions, into something new - suggesting that these winning projects may be the seed of significant progress in science education, despite considerable challenges to educational innovation.

Immunopaedia received its main impetus when Gray won the International Leadership Award from the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation in 2004. For two years, the Immunopaedia team, consulted with 20 top HIV specialist paediatricians in South Africa, researching what was needed to bring knowledge of immunology to clinicians throughout the country. Through their research, it became clear that a strong link to the clinicians' actual practice would be required to engage them, and case studies became that link. Gray states that real-life cases are the key to bringing knowledge of immunology to clinicians and help playing a part in "demystifying" the science.

'Moving toward an experiential-learning, problem-based model'

"Using clinical cases is a very good way to enter the clinical world," he says. "Using easy-to-understand language and graphics to link the clinical case with immunology facilitates understanding. Even beginning medical students can understand Immunopaedia, particularly as medical education, in general, moves toward an experiential-learning, problem-based model."

The daily breaking news that is also offered on the site gives users quick updates on new drugs, new vaccines and new microbicides, to name just a few offerings.

"We'd like to enhance and enrich people's knowledge so that maybe they can make better decisions," Gray says.

Since its launch in 2006, Immunopaedia has gone from 300 first-time users a month to between 2500 and 3000, most of whom are South African clinicians, although the site also attracts users from other parts of Africa, South America, and the United States. Some users are not physicians, but other healthcare providers, lab workers, and scientists. Meanwhile, the topics addressed have also expanded, and now include autoimmune disease, cancer, and primary immunodeficiency, among others.

Receiving the SPORE award is "fantastic," Gray says, "for increasing the site's usage, but also recognition of our achievements in creating a credible online learning tool for a country with an enormous disease burden".

Go to www.Immunopaedia.org for more information.