The scholarship program for "Special Visiting Researcher" aims to attract foreign researchers recognized internationally as leadership in priority areas of Science Without Borders program in Brazil. Dr Dillon will lead projects with Brazilian research groups during visits to Brazil for up to three months each year over a 3 year period.
Dr Dillon will be working with the Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology for Molecular Entomology (Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular) that represents nearly 50 laboratories throughout Brazil.
Specfic collaborating labs are:Prof Fernando Genta (IOC FIOCRUZ), Prof. Marcos Horácio (UFMG Belo Horizonte), Prof. Nelder Gontijo (UFMG), Dr. Reginaldo Brazil (IOC-FIOCRUZ, Rio de JaneiroJ), Prof. Richard Samuels (UENF Campos), Prof. Reginaldo Cavalcante (UFPI, Teresina), Prof. Walter Terra (USP Sao Paulo).
Goals and Objectives. (1) Inclusion of Brazilian groups into the sand fly genome sequencing consortium for the Brazilian sandfly that spreads Leishmania. Establish and nuture a network of laboratories in Brazil to participate in the assembly and annotation of sandfly genomes. (2) Study of interaction between bacterial symbionts and the Brazilian sandfly L. longipalpis. Testing the effect of infection with bacterial symbionts on longevity of L. longipalpis from different regions of Brazil. Study of the mechanism of transmission of bacteria by sand flies using molecular biology tools (real-time PCR and in situ hybridization). Characterization of the prevalence of symbiont infections in Brazilian populations of sand flies. (3) Establishment of techniques for gene silencing using RNAi paratransgenesis of bacteria and fungi associated with sand flies. (4) Encourage and set up public engagement activities related to medicine and insect borne diseases within Brazil (one project will be "Bug Brother Brazil"). Design and set up a virtual platform for public aprticipation an internet site for exposure of the biological cycle in the laboratory of some insect experimental models.
Performance indicators: (1) Participation in the consortium of Brazilian groups of genomes of P. papatasi and L. longipalpis. (2) Publication of scientific papers in international journals (about 10 articles in the period). (3) Installation of the internet platform, number of hits and comments.
