TRYLEIDIAG | Royal Tropical Institute

The Royal Tropical Institute is an international knowledge institute that actively contributes to international co-operation. The main areas of activity are rural development, tropical hygiene and disease control and transfer of knowledge. The Department of Biomedical Research concentrates on developing, evaluating and implementing methods for the detection of infectious diseases. KIT Biomedical Research’s concrete goal is the development of tools and systems that focuse on solving practical problems in diagnosis. Biomedical Research aims to develop a concept of “essential diagnostics” analogous to the concept of “essential drugs” that is maintained by the World Health Organization.

The Parasitology Unit of KIT Biomedical Research has ample experience in the development and improvement of diagnostic procedures of parasitic diseases and the development of molecular techniques for the detection and quantification of very low numbers of parasites in clinical samples. Furthermore, the group conducts research on drug efficacy and drug resistance. The Parasitology Unit of KIT Biomedical Research has an extensive network of collaborative research institutes within the Netherlands and abroad. Particular are its links with Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya and the University of Khartoum in Sudan.