Talk
Diversity of RNA Viruses in Trypanosomatids

Bio
Professor Vyacheslav Yurchenko (University of Ostrava) runs an international laboratory that is working on all imaginable aspects of trypanosomatid biology. The team is involved in several research projects in biochemistry, molecular parasitology and the evolution of parasitism in these fascinating species. In addition, his laboratory contributes to studies on the viral and bacterial endobionts of Trypanosomatidae, opening new avenues of investigations to control these important parasites.

Talk
Diversity of RNA Viruses in Trypanosomatids

Bio
Professor Vyacheslav Yurchenko (University of Ostrava) runs an international laboratory that is working on all imaginable aspects of trypanosomatid biology. The team is involved in several research projects in biochemistry, molecular parasitology and the evolution of parasitism in these fascinating species. In addition, his laboratory contributes to studies on the viral and bacterial endobionts of Trypanosomatidae, opening new avenues of investigations to control these important parasites.

Talk
It is Still a Wormy World: The Case of Ntds in Honduras

Bio
Professor Sanchez focuses on conducting primary field and laboratory research on infectious diseases, mostly tropical parasitic infections such as soil-transmitted helminths, tapeworms, pediculosis, and some intestinal apicomplexa. Additionally, she is interested in supporting capacity-building and increasing research proficiencies in developing countries. The synergies derived from these two lines of work have led to her involvement with national and international organizations, assisting in the prioritization of research and the fair implementation of research partnerships.

Talk
Leptospirosis in General

Bio
Dr. Hamond is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science, University of Connecticut. Dr. Hamond is also a Collaborating Researcher in the Bacterial Zoonoses Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, FIOCRUZ, Brazil. During the past seventeen years, her studies and professional experience have focused on animal leptospirosis, working on its clinical aspects; through her high dedication to performing research in the laboratory, she has established several key diagnostic assays in her career. While working on her PhD, she had the opportunity to perform an internship at the Biology of Spirochetes Unit at the Institute Pasteur (Paris, France). She has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Federal Fluminense University (Brazil), Yale University (United States), the National Institute of Agricultural Research and Institute Pasteur (Uruguay), and the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL), USDA (United States). Dr. Hamond’s research projects aim to identify reservoirs and determine the etiology of Leptospira through culture and molecular approaches. Her work improves scientific understanding about the etiology and epidemiology of leptospirosis, while providing local Leptospira isolates to increase the efficacy of serodiagnosis, vaccine formulation, and the pathogenesis studies of leptospirosis. Dr. Hamond has published more than 70 peer-reviewed research articles related to the microbiology and molecular biology of leptospirosis. She received the 2019 Early Career Research award from the International Leptospirosis Society; in 2022, she was named an Honorary Diplomate of the American Veterinary One Health Society (AVOHS); and in 2024, she was elected an Executive Member of the International Society of Leptospirosis (ILS).

Talk
Novel (Emerging) and Infrequent Fungal Infections

Bio
Dr. Laga is a dermatopathologist and infectious disease pathology consultant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the new director of the combined MGB Dermatopathology Fellowship at Harvard. He is passionate about education, global health and tropical diseases and has published 87 articles and 19 book chapters and co-edited one book.