Project description
Blocking sandfly transmission of Leishmania parasites to save lives
Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease transmitted by the bite of sandflies infected with Leishmania parasites. Each year, it affects an estimated one million people worldwide, causing skin ulcers and infection in mucosa and internal organs. Severe cases require a long hospital stay and can be fatal if untreated. Currently, there are no vaccines and vector control methods are limited to the generic use of insecticides that target sandflies. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the LeishBlock project aims to identify compounds (parasiticides) that target Leishmania with the least harm to sandflies and other insects. Compounds will be screened for safety on sandflies and bees and will then be assessed for their efficacy in eliminating the parasite.
Objective
The main objective of LEISHBLOCK is identifying antileishmanial compounds exhibiting minimal mortality to sand flies for exploitation as potential transmission blocking agents.
Sand flies are the vectors responsible for transmitting Leishmania parasites, the causative agents of a range of disfiguring to lethal diseases known as leishmaniasis, affecting populations worldwide.
Currently, with no human vaccines, disease control relies on reducing contact with the vector and chemotherapy. However, the effectiveness of leishmaniasis-vector control, which includes non-specific insecticide spraying, insecticide-impregnated nets, and environmental management, lags behind other disease-vector-control approaches. Moreover, treatment options for leishmaniasis are limited and often require prolonged hospitalization.
To address this pressing public health issue, there is an urgent need to harness existing knowledge on the biology of these parasites, utilize available resources, and explore novel approaches to disease control.
Recently, a promising transmission blocking intervention (TBI) has been pursued for vector-borne diseases like malaria, focusing on targeting parasites within the insect vector with a parasiticide. This innovative approach has demonstrated the potential to become a valuable addition to the arsenal of TBIs and merits attention in the field of leishmaniasis.
Compounds will be firstly screened using sand fly and bee cell lines. Then, the safest compounds will be individually tested on the respective adult insects. The leading compounds demonstrating greater safety will be assessed for their efficacy in reducing parasite burden in Leishmania-infected sand flies, employing an innovative DNA barcoding approach.
The knowledge gained from this multidisciplinary project will contribute to the discovery of urgently needed new drugs to combat this neglected and important emerging vector borne disease, while building on the research profile of the leading investigator.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases malaria
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
116 36 Praha 1
Czechia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.