| Grant number: | 08/57889-1 |
| Support Opportunities: | Research Projects - Thematic Grants |
| Start date: | March 01, 2009 |
| End date: | June 30, 2017 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms |
| Agreement: | CNPq - INCTs |
| Principal Investigator: | Luisa Lina Villa |
| Grantee: | Luisa Lina Villa |
| Host Institution: | Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil |
| City of the host institution: | São Paulo |
Abstract
The human papilomavirus (HPV) is responsible for one of the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world, infecting the anogenital and oropharyngeal mucosa and the skin causing malignant and benign neoplastic lesions. It is estimated that at least 50% of sexually active people are infected with at least one type of HPV. HPVs cause about 250,000 deaths per year from cervical cancer, most often in developing countries. It is responsible for a significant burden of disease and as such control of HPV infections and related tumors should be part of the public health agenda of any country. In Brazil it is estimated that 700 thousand new cases of HPV infection and 20 thousand new cases of cervical cancer will occur each year. Moreover, the cost for cervical cancer screening is increasingly high and not so efficient in controlling death from this frequent cancer. These facts justify the creation of an Institute dedicated to the study of such infections and diseases. The Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology launched a program of National Institutes of Science and Technology (NIST) with a thematic organization on strategical topics with potential scientific and technological impact and social relevance. One of the goals of the NIST is to provide technical training capacity, train professionals of higher level through specialization courses at post-graduation level; and the dissemination and transfer of solutions to relevant issues for the entire society. Relationships between the NIST and private companies should be fostered in order to accelerate the generation of innovations and patents. With these goals in mind we have outlined an HPV-themed project covering several aspects of the infections and tumors that affect a substantial proportion of individuals, with particular attention to dissemination of the information to the public. To reach such objectives we devised medium-and long-term research projects to be conducted at the HPV NIST located at Santa Casa de São Paulo. Human resources training at different levels are part of the HPV NIST activities including undergraduate and graduate students training both in short training courses or full graduation programs to be created at Santa Casa de São Paulo to provide theoretical-practical training about aspects of the HPV Biology and Epidemiology, all the way to treatment of HPV-related tumors and prevention of HPV infections. Knowledge transfer to society will explore the Santa Casa de São Paulo long experience on community projects including EducaSãoMiguel (social project aimed at training health agents and disease awareness to the general population); Expeditions (social project that provides comprehensive medical care associated with population guidance topics specific to poor communities); Teenage pregnancy (which gives global assistance to pregnant adolescents of the central region of the city of São Paulo) and the EDUCASUS, a network of different Santa-Casa hospitals (that aims distance training of health professionals of 375 hospitals from the State of São Paulo). A centralized computer-assisted system is in place for submitting projects to be supported by this NIST and all steps of the process, from funding to publication is accompanied through an extranet dedicated to the program acessible at the site www.incthpv.org.br. Clinical specimens and data is provided to investigators with the collaboration with the clinical, surgical and pathology services of Santa Casa and other collaborating institutions. Such partnership will be able to provide competent basic to applied research aiming to solve relevant health problems with innovativ ideas and solutions. As institutional counterpart for a project of this magnitude the Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericordia de São Paulo and the School of Medicine of Santa Casa de São Paulo provided laboratories, offices and classrooms; clinical research facilities; personnel such as laboratory technicians, researchers, nurses, social workers and administrative personnel, as well as building maintenance and IT facilities. The HPV NIST established a collaborative network formed by many of the top institutions in the country including the School of Medicine of Santa Casa de São Paulo and of the University of São Paulo, several services at the main hospitals of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo (ICMSCSP), the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Emilio Ribas Hospital, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Reference Center for STD/AIDS, Tide Setubal Foundation, School of Medicine at UNIFESP, among other with the participation of the specialties Gynecology, dermatology, otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery, urology and proctology and will provide a continuous flow of patients and clinical information. Different projects are conducted at the central laboratories of molecular biology and virology of the HPV NIST,including a) evaluation of HPV testing as an alternative cervical cancer screening tool; b) search of tumor markers and targets for novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools to control HPV-related diseases; genomics and transcriptomics of HPV-related tumors of the uterine cervix and head and neck anatomycal location. Finally, we aim to contribute highly qualified professionals in the field, as well as to transfer technology and information to laboratories, clinics, and to disseminate general information and education at all levels, including the lay public. (AU)
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