The main objective of this Scientific Program is to carry out an integrative exploration of the interactions established between microorganisms and their hosts and how such interactions can be understood within the context of regulatory networks and protein and gene interactions, both within the parasite and with the host, as well as the consequences and limitations these interactions may have at other levels of biological organization, specially at population and community levels.
Our first goal is to identify and characterize targets in the host to understand the basis of pathogenesis and the host defensive responses against infection and, potentially, use this knowledge for therapeutic purposes. A second goal aims to understand how the host and the pathogen generate the required genetic variation for these interactions to evolve. The third proposed aim is to understand the limitations imposed by the population and evolutionary dynamics, both on individual genetic systems of hosts and pathogens as on their interactions.
This Scientific Program includes both experimental and theoretical approaches. The identification of interactions between cellular components and pathogens, and particularly of the evolutionary stability of these interactions, opens up avenues to the development of new and more long-lasting therapies. The biomedical, veterinary and agricultural implications of this research are undeniable.
