Thirteen Annual Meeting of the Chinese Society of Bioengineering National Biotechnology Congress 2019
Researcher Dr. Andressa Durans will present her results entitled, "Bioengineering a high-performance diagnostic test for Chagas disease", which covers six years of research to develop a systematic approach to produce immunological reagents that can meet health needs of Brazil. With a goal to be manufactured in Brazil, her efforts have the potential to provide an effective diagnostic test whose performance can improve the quality of life for patients by accelerating treatment and could considerably lower the costs of disease diagnosis in the country and worldwide.
Dr. Paloma Pêgo, who has extensive experience with Mayaro virus and its diagnosis, will share her knowledge about this arbovirus in a presentation entitled, “Developing an innovative diagnostic reagent for Mayaro virus infection.” It is in the same family as Chikungunya virus and its close resemblance greatly complicates diagnosis. Dr. Pêgo will discuss her efforts to develop an accurate diagnostic test for the disease that highlight the power of Spot Synthesis analysis, peptides and multi-epitope recombinant proteins to address a future possible epidemic.
Both studies above require an appropriate platform for the practical application of the chimeric proteins in healthcare and Dr. Guilherme Lechuga will present a talk on “Advances in rapid diagnostic tests”. His knowledge with computer added design and 3D printing has contributed to new ideas for advancing conventional rapid diagnostic tests. Even in the development phase, the solutions consider the unique geographical challenges of Brazil that leverage advances in consumer electronics.
The CDTS
The Center for Technological Development in Health (CDTS) at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) presents one of its approaches to providing health solutions for neglected diseases and populations. Based on an innovative component that was recently submitted for patent protection, the method has been used to develop a gold standard quality diagnostic test for Chagas Disease, first generation diagnostics for Mayaro virus and has many potential future uses. Three young scientists directly involved in the projects will present their complementary research aimed at bringing products to market with the potential to delivery high gains in public health at low economic costs.
Andressa Durans
Currently holds a CNPq Industrial Technological Development postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Technological Development in Health (CDTS) at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ). She has a doctorate in Tropical Medicine (2018) from the Oswaldo Cruz Institute of FIOCRUZ under the mentorship of Drs. Angela Junqueira and D. William Provance, Jr for her research to develop a high-performance immunological reagent to diagnose chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infections that are responsible for Chagas disease. She has experience in molecular biology, biotechnology, recombinant proteins, Sanger sequencing and serological diagnosis. During the course of her doctoral research, she contributed to the development of a proteinaceous receptacle as an innovative solution to using linear B-cell in generating immunological reagents. Developed in concert with Drs. Provance, Salvatore Giovanni De Simone and Paloma Napoleão Pêgo at the CDTS, this technology has been submitted as a patent in Brazil with worldwide rights reserved for the bioengineering of chimeric recombinant proteins for use in diagnostic testing, vaccine development and therapeutic antibody production.
Guilherme Lechuga
Currently a CAPES Supplies Development postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Technological Development in Health (CDTS) at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ). Lechuga holds a degree in Biomedicine from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) and a master's and PHD in Science and Biotechnology also from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF). Lechuga hole is mainly in the study of hememetabolism as a metabolic target against Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas Disease. In addition, he works on data mining with the aim of directing drug design and repositioning for infectious diseases. Has experience in cell biology and biochemistry techniques applied in preclinical drug development studies. He is currently engaged in the application of 3D printing expertise for prototyping of point-of-care diagnostic tests and in vitro organ-on-a-chip cell culture models.
Paloma Pêgo
Currently a CAPES Supplies Development postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Technological Development in Health (CDTS) at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ). She has a doctorate in Science and Biotechnology from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) with experience in biochemistry and immunology. Since 2009, Pamola has been a member of the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Peptides in charge peptide synthesis with an emphasis of solid phase production on cellulose membranes. Her research is focused on protein-protein interactions through peptide libraries, multiple antigen peptides (dendrimers) and multi-epitope recombinant proteins for use in diagnostic testing, therapeutic antibody production and vaccine development.