CV Lattes
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Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB) (Institutional affiliation from the last research proposal) Birthplace: Argentina
I graduated in Biological Sciences (1992) and Doctor in Sciences (2000) at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina). After that I migrated to Brazil where I obtained a post-doctoral position funded by the São Paulo Science Foundation (FAPESP) at the Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (2000-2004). After that, I obtained my first grant as an independent early career researcher, funded by FAPESP. In 2006 I was hired as an Assistant Professor by the Department of Parasitology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences University of São Paulo, where I was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011 and to Full Professor in 2018. From the beginning of my independent scientific career I graduated 9 masters students, 12 PhD students and trained a dozen of post-doctoral researchers. Among other academic activities I served in several Committees, Councils and as deputy director of the Department of Parasitology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the University of São Paulo, and as Treasurer and member of the Directory board of the Brazilian Society of Protozoology (2012 2018). Looking in perspective to my research history, I must say that I acquired some experience (and a lot of conscious about my ignorance) on some topics of metabolism and metabolites transport, bioenergetics and mitochondrial physiology in protists, as well as the development and validation of targets to design new anti-parasitic drugs. For all this, the slogan of my lab is Drugs (for Neglected Diseases), Metabolism Rockn Roll. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)
| Articles published in Pesquisa FAPESP Magazine about the researcher: |
| An agenda for forgotten diseases |
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Many studies including several of our group have described the relevance of the amino acids in the biology trypanosomatids, focusing on the group of the so-called TriTryps (which includes Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, and pathogenic species of the genus Leishmania). The TriTryps use amino acids for many other functions besides protein synthesis, such as cell differentiation, the …
Chagas disease has become a worldwide challenge that can have severe consequences for human health over the long term. It is caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, and it can be acquired by vector transmission, through blood, and organ donors and from mother to child. Two drugs introduced more than 40 years ago, nifurtimox and benznidazole, are the only options approved for treatment, …
Trypanosomatids are deficient in some of the components of the Complex I of the respiratory chain. This would limit the cell ability to re-oxidize NADH to keep an adequate ratio NAD+/NADH, which in turn is critical for a normal functionality of critical metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis or the oxidation of some amino acids. However, the functionality of the other complexes of the ele…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
The conversion of Cysteine (Cys) to Pyruvate (Pyr) can be carried out by two enzymes: a broad-spectrum substrate Aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), which includes Cys among its substrates, and a Mercaptopyruvate Sulfotransferase (MPST). Due to their characteristics, the ASAT enzymes in T. cruzi are potential candidates for catalyzing the deamination reaction of Cys. However, despite the e…
Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected tropical disease considered a public and social health problem, which mainly affects the poor population in countries throughout the Americas. The infectious agent of CD is Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite with a complex life cycle that involves distinct cellular stages with different morphological, biochemical, and metabolic characteristics. The importance…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
The absence of an efficient treatment against Chagas disease rises the need to broaden our knowledge about the biology of this parasite, with the aim of identifying new targets and compounds as a therapeutic alternative. On this regard, aminoacid metabolism is a rational study proposal owed to its fundamental importance. Aminoacids, besides being precursors of protein biosynthesis, they s…
The parasite that causes Chagas' disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, is a single-celled pathogen that affects about 7 million people worldwide. This parasite has unique characteristics related to its biology, including a single mitochondrion, which houses the structure called kinetoplast containing mitochondrial genome (kDNA). For the translation of genes encoded by kDNA to occur, the importation…
Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent for Chagas´ Disease, which is one of the main tropical illnesses in Latin America, and is also among the most neglected ones in the world. Furthermore, currently used drugs present significant toxicity and show little effectiveness in the chronic phase of the disease, when most of the cases are diagnosed. These facts illustrate the urgent need fo…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, affects around 7 million people worldwide. It has unique features, including a single-branched mitochondrion, where the kinetoplast structure houses the mitochondrial genome (kDNA). For the translation of kDNA-encoded genes, a complete set of transfer RNAs (tRNAs) must be imported from the cytosol. These tRNAs undergo post-transcri…
In this proposal, we aim to improve the biological knowledge of Trypanosoma cruzi focusing on correlating the interfaces among three research areas: metabolism, epigenetics, and cell cycle. The parasites' metabolic flexibility allows them to survive in different environments, like those found in distinct hosts. The parasites can reprogram cellular functions, including metabolism, retainin…
Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei are the etiological agents of Chagas' disease and sleep sickness, respectively. Both are able to catabolize amino acids, which are involved in important metabolic processes. During the life cycle, the parasites adapt their metabolism to the availability of substrates in the different environments they go through along their life cycles. It was alre…
Both, information obtained by our lab on the role P5CDH in Trypanosoma cruzi metabolism and biology, and available information in the literature support the role of this enzyme in several physiological processes in the African trypanosome (T. brucei) and its intermediate host Glossina morsitans (tsetse fly). This proposal intends to assess the phenotype of conditioned mutant null cells fo…
| 1 / 1 | Ongoing grants |
| 34 / 28 | Completed research grants |
| 12 / 12 | Ongoing scholarships in Brazil |
| 31 / 22 | Completed scholarships in Brazil |
| 1 / 1 | Ongoing scholarships abroad |
| 3 / 3 | Completed scholarships abroad |
| 82 / 67 | All research grants and scholarships |
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