Residency Period: August 1, 2018 to July 31, 2019
IEAT resident, Professor Santuza Maria Ribeiro Teixeira holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland (1990). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences (1982) and a master’s degree in Biological Sciences (Molecular Biology, 1985) from the University of Brasília. She completed a postdoctoral internship at the University of Iowa (1991-1996) and a sabbatical leave at the University of Maryland (2008), in the United States. She is a Full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and a member of INCT Vacinas. She was a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (International Research Scholar), Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology at UFMG and President of the Brazilian Society of Protozoology. She is currently the Coordinator of the Center for Vaccine Technology (CT-Vacinas), at the Belo Horizonte Technology Park (BH-Tec). He has research experience in Molecular Biology, working mainly on the following topics: Molecular Parasitology and Parasite Genomics, with emphasis on studies on gene expression regulation, host-parasite interactions, antigen discovery, genetic variability and DNA repair in protozoa of the genera Trypanosoma and Leishmania. He has supervised 26 master’s students and 26 doctoral students (including co-supervisions) in the postgraduate programs in Biochemistry and Immunology and Bioinformatics at UFMG (both with Capes concept 7). He is a CNPq level 1B productivity scholarship holder.
PROJECT: GENOME EDITING AND DISEASE CONTROL IN HUMANITY: CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEBATE ON ETHICAL ASPECTS AND THE LIMITS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
The project aims to develop genome editing strategies to obtain attenuated strains of the protozoan parasite Leishmania braziliensis to be used in vaccine tests against leishmaniasis. CRISPR/Cas9 technology will be used as a method capable of producing specific modifications in the genomes of this parasite with high efficacy and safety. Given the great potential that this technology offers for use in health research, with diverse objectives, including those involving genetic modifications in human cells and embryos, the use of CRISPR/Cas9 will also be the subject of discussions with researchers from different areas of knowledge. The discussions proposed here about CRISPR/Cas9 will be of great use not only for disseminating knowledge about this new and promising technology among the UFMG community, with the aim of demonstrating the benefits it can bring to society, but also for fostering discussions that can contribute to the debate on ethical and legal issues associated with its use.