Pathogens Webinar | Tick Microbiome: Methods of Study, Role in Tick-Pathogen Interactions and Applications for Tick-Borne Pathogen Control
Welcome from the Chair
10th Pathogens Webinar
Tick Microbiome: Methods of Study, Role in Tick-Pathogen Interactions and Applications for Tick-Borne Pathogen Control
Human pathogens that are transmitted by arthropods are a global concern, particularly those vectored by ticks. Half of the world’s population lives today at risk of vector-borne diseases, as vector and vector-borne pathogen control is challenging and only a handful of vaccines are currently licensed for vector-borne diseases. Vector microbiota may hold the key to vector-borne pathogen control, as mounting evidence suggests that the contributions of the vector microbiota to vector physiology and pathogen life cycle are so relevant that vectorial capacity or competence cannot be understood without considering microbial communities within the vectors. In this webinar, ‘current methods in microbiome analysis’, ‘tick-pathogen-microbiome interactions’, and ‘anti-microbiota vaccines’ will be presented by research leaders in these topics, Dr. Dasiel Obregon, Prof. Andréa Cristina Fogaça, and Dr. Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz. The main goal of this webinar is to create awareness and debate around the vector bacterial microbiota as a source of targets to block pathogen transmission.
Date: 17 October 2022
Time: 3:00 pm CEST | 9:00 am EDT | 9:00 pm CST Asia
Webinar ID: 889 8584 2791
Webinar Secretariat: pathogens.webinar@mdpi.com
Chair
After graduation as Doctor in Veterinary Medicine in 2006, Alejandro joined the Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), in Havana, where he was involved in the study of molecular biology, genetic engineering and biotechnology applied to tick control. In 2012, he obtained a Marie Curie scholarship and joined the EU-funded project POSTICK at the Institute of Parasitology in the Czech Republic and completed his Master in Parasitology. Then, in 2013 Alejandro enrolled in two PhD programs simultaneously and completed them in 2014 (Spain) and 2016 (France). After a brief post-doc, in 2017 he joined INRAE as a Principal Investigator at the UMR-BIPAR, France. Since 2012, Alejandro has published over 170 manuscripts on different aspects of tick research. Recently, with his group, he introduced the concept of anti-microbiota vaccines, as an innovative approach for tick control and to develop transmission-blocking vaccines. His scientific results have been recognized by the scientific community and in 2017 he was awarded the 'Odile Bain Memorial Prize' for his outstanding contribution to Parasitology.
Invited Speakers
Dr. Dasiel Obregon graduated in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences at the Agrarian University of Havana in 2004, then he worked as a full professor in this institution from 2005 to 1015, in the Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine. He obtained a master’s degree in 2010 and a PhD in 2015, with an outstanding contribution to the study of ecoepidemiology of tick-borne diseases in Cuba. In 2016 he moved to Brazil where he completed a second PhD in environmental microbiology, in partnership between Sao Paulo State University (USP, Brazil) and the University of Guelph (UG, Canada). During this time, he acquired new skills in bioinformatics and microbiome analysis allowing him to upgrade his studies on tick microbiome and tick-microbiome-pathogen interactions. In recent years he has made a significant contribution to the study of the tick microbiome, with numerous publications in G1 journals and contributing as editor and reviewer in several journals. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at the Microbial Ecology group, at the School of Environmental Science, University de Guelph.
Dr. Andrea Fogaça is a biologist and she obtained her PhD in Sciences in 2003 by the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of São Paulo (ICB-USP), Brazil. During her PhD, Andrea isolated and characterized four antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) of the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus, including the first AMP derived from the host hemoglobin. In 2008, after a posdoc in Biochemistry at the Chemistry Institute of USP, she obtained a Young Investigator Grant in Emerging Research Institution from the São Paulo Research Foundation (JP-FAPESP). The project aimed to characterize the molecular interactions between Rickettsia rickettsii (causative agent of Brazilian spotted fever) and its tick vectors in Brazil. In 2010, Dr. Fogaça became part of the faculty of the Department of Parasitology of ICB-USP. Currently, she is an associate professor and coordinates the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Immunology of Arthropods (LBIA), developing projects that aim to identify and characterize the molecular and cellular factors involved in the interactions among ticks, rickettsiae, the microbiota and the vertebrate host.
Webinar Content
Program
|
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CEST |
|
Dr. Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz Chair Introduction |
3:00 - 3:10 pm |
|
Dr. Dasiel Obregon Current Methods in the Study of the Tick Microbiome |
3:10 - 3:30 pm |
|
Dr. Andréa Cristina Fogaça Role of Tick Microbiome in Tick-Pathogen Interactions |
3:30 - 3:50 pm |
|
Dr. Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz Exploiting the Tick Microbiome for Developing Novel Transmission-Blocking Vaccines |
3:50 - 4:10 pm |
|
Q&A Session |
4:10 - 4:25 pm |
|
Closing of Webinar |
4:25 - 4:30 pm |
Relevant SI
Advances in Diagnostics and Xenodiagnostics of Tick-Borne Diseases in Humans and Animals
Guest Editors: Dr. Pavle Banović, Dr. Sara Savić & Dr. Marina Žekić
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2022
Soft Ticks and Associated Pathogens: Acquiring Knowledge to Advance in Their Control
Guest Editors: Dr. Ricardo Pérez-Sánchez & Dr. Ana Oleaga
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2023
Tick-Borne Disease Outbreaks in Human Populations - Updates and Emerging Challenges
Guest Editors: Dr. Pavle Banović, Dr. Dajana F. Lendak & Dr. Siniša Sević
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 February 2023
A topical collection in Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This collection belongs to the section "Ticks".
Collection Editors: Dr. Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz, Dr. Ladislav Šimo, Dr. James J. Valdés & Dr. Dasiel Obregón
Sponsors and Partners
Organizers
