Research in Cyprus
By Ally Jay, MS 4
Ally Jay, MS 4
Tucked in the eastern Mediterranean, just south of Turkey, Cyprus is an island with a rich history.
As a Fulbright scholar in 2002, I spent a year at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) doing basic molecular biology research on the genes involved in atherosclerosis. During that year, I formed friendships with physicians, who educated me on the Cypriot population's high frequency of inherited disorders, such as the highest incidence rate of beta-thalassemia in the world. Beginning in the early 1970s, Cypriot pediatricians first instituted plans for population screening. Comprehensive medical programs have resulted in the significant reduction and complete absence of infant thalassemia on the island. As a Pritzker student I returned to the Institute in 2004 with the support of a Keith Edson scholarship after my first year. Cyprus has been crippled since 1970 when the Turkish Government invaded the island. Tensions remain to this day between Turkish and Greek Cypriots, as many Greeks were thrown out of their homes and banned from coming back by the Turkish government. A wall, reminiscent of the famous Berlin wall, was set up in the middle of the island and until recently Cypriots were not allowed to cross. The CING is a place ideally where both Turkish and Greek Cypriots can put aside differences and come for medical care and assistance, as it is funded by the U.S. and United Nations.
The clinic where I worked was the only government funded pediatrics clinic, and represented a unique experience as our patients would often travel with their families from all over the island. I helped treat patients Research and Clinical Experiences in Cyprus with a range of genetic disorders such as: epidermolysis bullosa, achrondoplasia, Downs syndrome, and fetal alcohol syndrome. I also gained experience with counseling parents on conditions such as Werdnig-Hoffman disease, a fatal degenerative neuromuscular condition.
In April, 2007, as a Keith Edson Ambassador, I will return to this pediatric genetics clinic. I will specifically be working to improve communication for our Turkish Cypriot patients. As the majority of Institute workers only speak Greek, it is difficult to educate parents regarding their children's genetic conditions in their own language. This limits our ability to include them in shaping their family's future and indeed their community's incidence of genetic diseases. The result is significant economic and personal sequelae. One further goal of mine to set up a program so that future University of Chicago students can visit this site in Cyprus and explore the unique political, social, and health challenges of providing medical care in this country.
In a sector of the world where many differences seem to exist, the commonality of
healing one child at a time is a challenge and indeed an opportunity. As Dr. Paul
Farmer writes of his work in Haiti on reducing the bane of tuberculosis and
other infectious diseases, there is a Haitian proverb, De ye mon gen mon, beyond mountains there are mountains. In effect, we have to think about health in the
broadest personal sense.
My work this spring will allow me to revisit Cyprus and move from the first line of defense, i.e. diagnosis of a condition, to a second line of
education and cultural awareness!
