The São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Pathogenic Trypanosomatids (SPSAS TrypsSchool) will be held in Brazil on September 19-30 at the Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP) in São Paulo state, Brazil.
Reporters are invited to register for scientific sessions and short courses, which will present state-of-art science and results of new research.
SPSAS TrypsSchool is focused on parasites causing two important and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs): leishmaniasis, endemic in more than 80 countries of the tropics and sub-tropics, and Chagas disease, endemic in several countries in the Americas. The School conveys strong interdisciplinarity, bringing together experts from different fields. It will encompass basic, cutting-edge research and knowledge on molecular biology, genetic manipulation, structural biology, metabolism, epigenetics, high-throughput approaches, and drug design.
The lecturers include Jeremy Mottram of University of York (UK), who will share his important contributions on the development of high-throughput tools for the genetic studies on Leishmania; Michael Barrett of University of Glasgow (UK), who will address drug discovery on pathogenic trypanosomatids; Mônica Pupo of the University of São Paulo (Brazil), who will discuss some of the findings on her studies on natural products regarding NTDs-related drug development; Julia Pinheiro Cunha of the Butantan Institute (Brazil), who will lecture about the importance of understanding epigenetic phenomena to assure the control of trypanosomatids’ genetic expression; also Charles Mowbray, director of the multinational organisation DNDi — Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative; among others.
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is supporting the event through its São Paulo School of Advanced Science Program (SPSAS). Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers who are already working on subjects relating to Neglected Tropical Diseases can apply to receive financial support to cover the cost of air travel, accommodation and meals. The organizers will select 80 participants, 40 from all parts of Brazil and 40 from abroad.