How to improve global health with a lethal killer | Julian Ma | TEDxWandsworth

Tobacco may have been responsible for the death of 1 in 10 adults worldwide. But in the new world of plant biotechnology, tobacco could provide answers to our increasing global health problems. Just over 25 years ago, a tobacco plant was genetically modified into a mini-factory for producing monoclonal antibodies. Now, plant-derived monoclonal antibodies against infections, cancer and arthritis are being developed to try to bring affordable modern medicines to the poor in under-developed regions of the world. Prevention of HIV and rabies are our research focus, but tobacco-made antibodies were also used in 2014 to save people infected with Ebola virus. Tobacco, a mass killer? Think again.

Julian Ma holds the Hotung Chair of Molecular Immunology and is Director of the Institute for Infection and Immunity at St. George’s, University of London.

He graduated in dentistry in 1983, and went on to gain his PhD in Immunology, studying topical anti-microbial immunotherapy using monoclonal antibodies. He worked at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, in the laboratory which pioneered the expression of recombinant antibodies in transgenic plants. On his return to the UK, his group developed the first monoclonal secretory antibody expressed in plants and its clinical application to prevent tooth decay.

He moved to St. George’s Hospital Medical School in 2003 to explore the wider applications of plant biotechnology for global infectious diseases. His research group now studies basic mechanisms of protein production in plant cells, as well as the design, engineering and clinical applications of novel recombinant proteins in plants for vaccination and immunotherapy.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

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