Professors G. Mitta and J. Boissier, from University of Perpignan (France), will teach in the Schistosomiasis module, in the 29th edition of Master’s degree in Tropical Parasitic Diseases 2015-2016 of the UV.
30 june 2016
The collaboration done by Perpignan's team of experts in the module focused on Schistosomiasis or also called Bilharziasis (the world’s second most important disease after Malaria) has been constant since 1987 when the first edition of the Master’s degree began. The Master was then known as the official Master’s degree of the World Health Organisation. Globally renowned as one of the highest quality research centres on this disease, several experts from the French team have participated in the Master’s degree during all these years. According to Drs Mitta (the Centre’s Director) and Boissier (Lead Researcher on Schistosomiasis in that Centre), this has been however the first time they participate in the Master, after the former experts had retired.
Their involvement has generated new and broader perspectives about this disease of great importance, especially in aspects regarding its capacity of geographic expansion, essentially based on its researches on the recent epidemic of urogenital Schistosomiasis in Corsica and the recent results about host-parasite compatibility. In addition, it includes the analysis of new methods and techniques of genomics and proteomics that nowadays are opening new promising lines of investigation.
The UV and the University of Perpignan defrayed entirely this collaboration by means of a joint project. These two universities are part of the European Commission’s Erasmus programme, which offers an exchange for Master’s degree students for the preparation of their Master’s Dissertation between both universities.
What should also be highlighted is the collaboration between WHO Collaborating Centre of Perpignan’s French team and the WHO Collaborating Centre of Valencia (led by Profs S. Mas-Coma,M.D. Bargues and M.A. Valero and the Master’s coordinator in the UV, in research issues regarding the risk of introduction of Schistosomiasis into Europe. This profitable line of research has already generated a joint publication in Lancet Infectious Diseases, an internationally prestigious magazine. A second joint publication will soon arrive, also accepted in this magazine. In addition, the collaborators used the opportunity to analyse other lines of collaboration in the future broadening several axes such as teaching, research and exchange between professors, researchers and students.
