Objective
This project makes full use of the experience, skills and contacts acquired during my postdoctoral stay abroad, allowing me to combine the expertise of three recognized institutes: The Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium, and the Natural History Museum London. This combination unites basic biological science, fisheries and aquaculture (KUL), parasitology and epidemiology (ITG and NHM), and genomics and population genetics (KUL). Such a multidisciplinary approach is becoming increasingly important in grasping complex problems like the epidemiology of parasitic diseases.
Despite its enormous importance and huge potential, population genetic studies on helminth parasites are very rare. Amongst the three major components of a host-parasite interaction, the abiotic environment, host genetics and parasite genetics, the latter has been the least studied. We need to know how genotypes are distributed within and among parasite populations, and the epidemiological factors that determine these distributions. Here we apply a comparative approach by concentrating on two parasite groups that differ in important life history traits: Gyrodactylus spp. are ectoparasitic on teleosts (causing major problems in aquaculture), and Schistosoma spp. are endoparasites of mammals (of which humans, causing Bilharziosis). We will study the population genetic structure by means of microstatellite studies and sequencing of variable mtDNA fragments. By comparing the obtained results, we will be able to identify the factors that structure parasite populations.
Apart from answering fundamental questions necessary to study the theory of speciation, there will be an added applied value to the obtained results. Uncovering transmission dynamics is crucial in studying the epidemiology of Schistosoma and Gyrodactylus spp., and population genetics studies are needed to study the effect of disease management on the evolution of parasite populations.
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 tropical medicine
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries fisheries
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology
- social sciences sociology demography human migrations
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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.
Topic(s)
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.
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.
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.
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-11
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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.
Coordinator
LEUVEN
Belgium
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.