The Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), the former “Medical Research Unit of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital”, was established in 1981 as a research centre located in the rain forest region of Gabon in the Central African sub-region. The centre has a long history of evaluating interventions against malaria, including phase I to III drug trials, vaccine candidate evaluations and intermittent preventive treatment in infants and pregnant women. The past years have seen a diversification into other areas such as tuberculosis, as well as bacterial, and helminthic infections and viruses including arboviruses and Sars-CoV2.
CERMEL has a strong and long-standing relationship with the local community – a population of around 65000 in Lambaréné and surrounding areas. Several epidemiological and social science research projects are performed on a variety of research subjects. CERMEL has a staff of almost 300 which includes medical doctors, biologists, study nurses, project managers, statisticians, information technologists and administrative personnel.
The laboratories are well equipped and include, for example, RT-PCR machines, Sequencers, cytometers, an ELISPOT reader, ELISA readers, and flow hoods. CERMEL participates in internal and external quality control schemes. Efforts have started for the laboratory to be accredited according to the SLIPTA scheme of the WHO.
The centre is actively involved in national and regional health and research policy and has a role in defining the national tuberculosis diagnostic and treatment policies. It is the main site for the diagnosis and treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the country. CERMEL also serves as the National reference laboratory.
On the international level, close partnerships exist with the University of Tübingen, Germany; the Medical University of Leiden, and that of Amsterdam in The Netherlands and the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. CERMEL is a centre of excellence for clinical research in the Central African region.
More information on the centre can be found at www.cermel.org
Team
Professor Dr. Ayola Akim Adegnika (MD, PhD, MSc)
Director of CERMEL and site Scientific Coordinator
Professor Dr. Martin Peter Grobusch (MD, PhD, MSc, DTM&H, FRCP, FISTM, FASTMH, FESCMID)
Site Principal Investigator
Dr. Bayode Romeo Adegbite (MD, MSc, PhD )
Site Investigator ,Site team leader
MFOUMBI Guy Arnaut , Msc
Biologist
Andréa Rosine Oméra OBELE NDONG, MD
Physician, Investigator
Micheska Epola, Msc
Biologist
EDOA Jean Ronald, MD
Physician, Investigator
Mbaïdiguim Fabrice Beral0, MD
Physician, Investigator
Achimi Agbo Abdul Pacome, Msc, PhD
Biologist
Mebiame Christopher Msc
Biologist