Brazilian wins int’l award for research into Zika virus, Chagas disease

Scientist Rafaela Ferreira’s research aims to discover molecules

Published on 26/03/2018 - 14:54 By Pedro Rafael Vilela reports from Agência Brasil - Brasília

premiação

Rafaela Ferreira, assistant professor from the Federal University of Minas Gerais Biochemistry and Immunology Departmen.Divulgação

Brazilian scientist Rafaela Ferreira, assistant professor from the Federal University of Minas Gerais Biochemistry and Immunology Department, won an award from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco), which acknowledges the work of the world’s most prominent female scientists in 2017.

The only representative from Latin America among the 15 recipients of the International Rising Talents, Ferreira won 15 thousand euros to further the research aimed at developing medication for the treatment against Zika virus and Chagas disease. The award was handed out on Wednesday (Mar. 21), in Paris.

Ferreira’s research aims to discover molecules capable of changing how the parasite that causes Chagas disease and Zika virus operate, thus inhibiting their action in the human body.

Over 400 thousand molecules have been analyzed through complex computer programs, she said, adding that some of them were identified as “promising.”

“Our work is the development of pharmaceuticals in their early stage, which is the discovery of promising molecules. After that, they need to be assessed in animal models, and go through a number of safety tests, then finally clinical experiments, where these molecules are assessed in human beings with a view to analyzing the drug’s efficiency and safety,” the scientist said.

In the case of Zika, synthetic inhibitors are being prepared for future tests in the brain cells of babies with microcephaly, so they can hinder the effects of the virus and interrupt the progress of the disease.

Visibility

Ferreira also had her work recognized last year as part of the Brazilian version of this accolade, the For Women in Science award. She expects the recognition to bring more support and visibility to the development of her research.

“From a more pragmatic perspective, the problem we face is the considerable amount of investment necessary to develop a drug, with the fact that it becomes increasingly more expensive as it progresses,” she explained. Known as neglected illnesses, Chagas disease and the Zika virus infection fail to arouse the necessary interest of the pharmaceutical industry.

“Chagas disease, for example, was described over a hundred years ago [by Brazilian scientist Carlos Chagas] and the industry just doesn’t invest in it because it’s a disease affecting poorer countries. Public institutions have the important role of working so that we can make strides in the development of these pharmaceuticals,” Rafaela Ferreira argued.


Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: Brazilian wins int’l award for research into Zika virus, Chagas disease

Edition: Kleber Sampaio / Mariana Branco

Latest news