Doctor Charles Narh, who leads the genetics and bioinformatics team at ZiP, will lead the BSAC field validation project. Doctor Narh, who studied for his PhD at the University of Melbourne, is originally from Ghana and has extensive field experience in researching and implementing programs for infectious diseases in Ghana. The project will partner with Dr Lydia Mosi and colleagues at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, who is spearheading Ghana’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ZiP has recently developed a low-cost and easy to use point-of-care COVID-19 test that delivers a result in less than 30 minutes. It provides high sensitivity detection of active infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus, comparable to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratory test. The objective of ZiP’s point-of-care platform is to provide real time access to test results and a test capability that can be used at a community level without the need for a laboratory.
“We are delighted to receive this BSAC grant as it provides valuable assistance with funding for the validation and implementation of ZiP’s technology in my home country of Ghana, which at this stage is not adversely affected by COVID-19.” said Doctor Narh.