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of lactic bacteria present in unpasteurized camel milk.
By cloning the target genes identified in the different
strains, expressing them individually in one single strain
of the bacterium and then comparing their protein
degrading activity, she hopes to be able to determine the
genetic basis for each enzyme’s specific action.
On return to Algeria, Habiba Drici plans to apply the
newly acquired techniques to improve selected strains of
lactic bacteria found in unpasteurized milk in Algeria for
possible use in industrial cheese manufacture. She
would also like to set up a new line of research on the
production of lactic ferments in her home university with
the aim of training a new generation of engineers
specialized in cheese production.
Host institution: Laboratory of Microbiology and
Genetics, Claude Bernard University (Lyon I),
Villeurbanne, France. �
Jordan
Clinical Nutrition
Reema Fayez TAYYEM, 33, PhD in clinical nutrition,
is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Allied Health
Sciences at the Hashemite University in Al-Zarqa,
Jordan, where she teaches nutritional science.
Dr Tayyem is interested in assessing whether the
consumption of curcumin has an inhibitory effect on the
development of colon cancer.
FELLOWS UNESCO-L’ORÉAL 2005
Curcumin is a yellow pigment from the root of Curcuma
longa (or turmeric), a ginger-like plant that grows in
tropical regions and is commonly used as a spice.
Recent studies have shown that curcumin has particular
chemical properties which make it a useful anti-cancer
agent. It has the ability, for example, to selectively inhibit
cancer cell division and to inhibit angiogenesis (the
formation of new blood vessels) in certain cancers,
including colon cancer.
In her study, Dr Tayyem will make a statistical
comparison of a group of colon cancer patients with a
group of healthy participants in four different areas of
Jordan, two of which have a high prevalence of colon
cancer and two of which have a low prevalence of the
disease. Using a questionnaire, she will determine the
dietary curcumin intake of each participant and will also
undertake chemical analysis and measurement of
curcumin in blood and food samples.
Dr Tayyem will use her time in Arizona to perfect her
questionnaire and acquire knowledge of the
biostatistical methods necessary to conduct this type of
study. She will also develop an assessment tool for
measuring curcumin in food and blood samples.
Once her results have been analyzed she will evaluate
whether her findings are in keeping with other studies in
the field and apply this information in cancer prevention
initiatives in Jordan.
Host institution: Division of Health Promotion
Sciences, Arizona College of Public Health and Arizona
Cancer Center, Tucson, USA. �