Kim Janda, of the Scripps Research Institute, led the development of a new test for river blindness. The condition is the result of a parasitic tropical infection common in sub-Saharan Africa that affects more than 18 million people. The practical test for the disease does not require access to a laboratory; now the infection is diagnosable with a dipstick urine test. Research on the test appears in the journal ACS Infectious Diseases.

“It’s one of the things on my bucket list,” said Janda. “I wish we could've done it quicker, but we had to learn a lot of things, and there wasn't a lot known.”

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“After an epic research journey, an inexpensive, practical test for river blindness”