Hegemonic structure of basic, clinical and patented knowledge on Ebola research: a US army reductionist initiative

TL;DR

This study maps the organization of Ebola research across basic, clinical, and patent knowledge, revealing a reductionist structure influenced by military interests and highlighting key research fronts and knowledge flow patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive network analysis approach to understand Ebola research organization and the influence of military and patent activities on knowledge development.

Findings

Six research fronts identified, including structural proteins and pathogenesis.

Patent network organization mirrors scientific literature, focusing on Ebola virus proteins.

Knowledge flows from clinical-epidemiology to molecular levels, indicating a reductionist approach.

Abstract

Background: In this paper, we present an approach to understand how the basic, clinical and patent knowledge on Ebola is organized and intercommunicated and what leading factor could be shaping the evolution of the knowledge translation process for this disease. Methodology: A combination of citation network analysis; analysis of Medical heading Subject (MeSH) and Gene Ontology (GO) terms, and quantitative content analysis for patents and scientific literature, aimed to map the organization of Ebola research was carried out. Results: We found six putative research fronts (i.e. clusters of high interconnected papers). Three research fronts are basic research on Ebola virus structural proteins: glycoprotein, VP40 and VP35, respectively. There is a fourth research front of basic research papers on pathogenesis, which is the organizing hub of Ebola research. A fifth research front is pre-clinical research focused on vaccines and glycoproteins. Finally, a clinical-epidemiology research front related to the disease outbreaks was identified. The network structure of patent families shows that the dominant design is the use of Ebola virus proteins as targets of vaccines and other immunological treatments. Therefore, patents network organization resembles the organization of the scientific literature. Specifically, the knowledge on Ebola would flow from higher (clinical-epidemiology) to intermediated (cellular-tissular pathogenesis) to lower (molecular interactions) levels of organization. Conclusion: Our results suggest a strong reductionist approach for Ebola research probably influenced by the lethality of the disease. On the other hand, the ownership profile of the patent families network and the main researches relationship with the United State Army suggest a strong involvement of this military institution in Ebola research.