Eventos
Bianca Zingales
Bianca Zingales is currently Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Sao Paulo (USP). She earned her Bachelor of Biological Science at USP, in 1969, and her PhD in Biochemistry from the Institute of Chemistry (USP), in 1975. After completing her PhD, Zingales started working with cell biology aspects of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, disclosing characteristics of the plasma membrane of the parasite related to the interiorization in the mammalian host cell.
One recombinant surface antigen defined by her group is presently used in a kit for the serological diagnosis of Chagas disease. Since 1985, Zingales has focused her research on the Molecular Epidemiology of T. cruzi. Her laboratory contributed to the definition that T. cruzi is partioned into six genetic lineages (TcI-TcVI), that have distinct eco-epidemiological characteristics. Recently, recommendations have been issued on which strains representing T. cruzi diversity should be selected for drug discovery for Chagas disease.
Zingales has been a consultant of TDR since 1992, participating in the Steering Committee on Chagas' Disease (1992-1993); Research Strengthening Group (1997-2000); the South-South Initiative, as the General Coordinator (2002-2009). She was appointed by WHO as a Member of the Expert Advisory Panel of Parasitic Diseases (Trypanosomiasis) (2000- 2009) and as Co-chair of the Disease Reference Group on Chagas disease, Leishmaniasis and Human African Trypanosomiasis (2009 - 2012).
This committee compiled the WHO Technical Report Series 975 on Research Priorities for the three kinetoplastid diseases (http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77472/1/WHO_TRS_975_eng.pdf). Zingales is currently the Secretary General of the Panamerican Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PABMB). Zingales has over 110 refereed publications. For her accomplishments, Zingales was elected Member of the Brazilian Academy of Science in 2000 and graduated with the National Order of Scientific Merit in 2010.