title: European Union funded project on the development of a whole complement deficiency screening ELISA-A story of success and an exceptional manager: Mohamed R. Daha.
abstract: A whole complement ELISA-based assay kit, primarily designed to screen for deficiencies in components of the complement system was developed during a European Union grant involving more than a dozen European scientists and a small-medium enterprise company (Wieslab, which later merged into Eurodiagnostica). The consortium was led by Prof. Mohamed R. Daha who had already guided a preceding European grant which prepared the ground for this endeavor to create a novel and sophisticated complement measurement tool. The final result of the grant was a scientific publication (Seelen et al., 2005, J. Immunol. Methods 296, 187-198) and a commercially available complement deficiency screening kit, WIESLAB(®) Complement system Screen. Thereafter, the group decided to carry on with a grant, located at Innsbruck Medical University, and supported by royalties and unrestricted educational grants from Eurodiagnostica, Malmö, entitled "Search for Applications for WIESLAB(®) Complement system Screen (SAW)" with the aim to look for further applications of this assay. During the latter project the group organized several scientific meetings aimed at evaluating the use of the assay as well as developing further branches of its platform. A look back over almost two decades reveals a great story of excellent research which was also commercially successful, fulfilling the aims of European Union grants. It is also a story of ageless friendship, only possible due to the vision and guidance of an exceptional manager: Moh Daha.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hygiene & Med. Microbiology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: Reinhard.Wuerzner@i-med.ac.at.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Würzner
authors.affiliation: IRCCS, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tedesco
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Immunology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garred
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Tom Eirik
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Mollnes
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Section of Microbiology, Immunology and Glycobiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Truedsson
authors.affiliation: Immunobiology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Malcolm W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Eurodiagnostica AB, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Yngve
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sommarin
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jörgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wieslander
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Department, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Sim
mesh_terms: D000486:Allergy and Immunology / Q000266:history; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000266:history; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods*; D005062:European Union; D015870:Gene Expression; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D000078329:Workforce
chemical_list: D003165:Complement System Proteins
keywords: Complement; Daha; Deficiency; Diagnostics; ELISA; Screening