Impact and innovative character of the intellectual production as a function of the nature of the programme:
Listed below are eight (8) products of the 2017-2020 quadrennium, distributed among the permanent professors in relation to the area of concentration, lines of research and research projects of the PPGMT. All products have students/graduates as first author, resulting from master’s and doctoral completion papers; are classified in Qualis Reference A1-A2; has >2 citations; and national and international collaboration, indicating the program’s ability to integrate with other research groups.
1. Brito-Sousa JD, Santos TC, Avalos S, Fontecha G, Melo GC, Val F, Siqueira AM, Alecrim GC, Bassat Q, Lacerda MVG, Monteiro WM. Clinical Spectrum of Primaquine-induced Hemolysis in Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency: A 9-Year Hospitalization-based Study From the Brazilian Amazon. Clin Infect Dis. 2019 Sep 27; 69(8):1440-1442. doi: 10.1093/ICD/CIZ122. PMID: 30753364.
Product with student/graduate as first author, resulting from master’s degree completion work; classified in Qualis Reference A1 (FI: 8.313); with >2 citations; and national and international collaboration (Honduras and Spain).
Line of research: Malaria
2. Jerónimo CMP, Farias MEL, Val FFA, Sampaio VS, Alexandre MAA, Melo GC, Safe IP, Borba MGS, Abreu-Netto RL, Maciel ABS, Neto JRS, Oliveira LB, Figueiredo EFG, Dinelly KMO, Rodrigues MGA, Brito M, Mourão MPG, Pivoto João GA, Hajjar LA, Bassat Q, Romero GAS, Naveca FG, Vasconcelos HL, Tavares MA, Brito-Sousa JD, Costa FTM, Nogueira ML, Baía-da-Silva D, Xavier MS, Monteiro WM, Lacerda MVG; , for the Metcovid Team. Methylprednisolone as Adjunctive Therapy for Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 (Metcovid): A Randomised, Double-Blind, Phase IIb, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Aug 12:ciaa1177. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1177. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32785710; PMCID: PMC7454320.
Product with student/graduate as first author, several other master’s and doctoral students as co-authors, resulting from doctoral conclusion work; classified in Qualis Reference A1 (FI: 8.313); with >2 citations; and national and international collaboration (Spain).
Line of research: Unusual Diseases and Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases
3. Santana RAG, Guerra MGVB, Sousa DR, Couceiro K, Ortiz JV, Oliveira M, Ferreira LS, Souza KR, Tavares IC, Morais RF, Silva GAV, Melo GC, Vergel GM, Albuquerque BC, Arcanjo ARL, Monteiro WM, Ferreira JMBB, Lacerda MVG, Silveira H, Guerra JAO. Oral Transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, Brazilian Amazon. Emerg Infect Dis. 2019 Jan; 25(1):132-135. doi: 10.3201/EID2501.180646. PMID: 30561299; PMCID: PMC6302584.
Product with student/graduate as first author, several other master’s and doctoral students as co-authors, resulting from doctoral conclusion work; classified in Qualis Reference A1 (FI: 6.259); with >2 citations; and national and international collaboration (Portugal).
Line of research: Chagas Disease
4. Andrade SD, Sabidó M, Monteiro WM, Benzaken AS, Tanuri A. Drug resistance in antiretroviral-naïve children newly diagnosed with HIV-1 in Manaus, Amazonas. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2017 Jun 1; 72(6):1774-1783. doi: 10.1093/JAC/DKX025. PMID: 28333295.
Product with student/egress as first author, resulting from doctoral conclusion work; classified in Qualis Reference A1 (FI: 5.439); with >2 citations; and national and international collaboration (Spain).
Line of research: Sexually Transmitted Infections and Viral Hepatitis
5. Chaves BA, Orfano AS, Nogueira PM, Rodrigues NB, Campolina TB, Nacif-Pimenta R, Pires ACAM, Júnior ABV, Paz ADC, Vaz EBDC, Guerra MDGVB, Silva BM, de Melo FF, Norris DE, de Lacerda MVG, Pimenta PFP, Secundino NFC. Coinfection with Zika Virus (ZIKV) and Dengue Virus Results in Preferential ZIKV Transmission by Vector Bite to Vertebrate Host. J Infect Dis. 2018 Jul 13; 218(4):563-571. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy196. PMID: 29659904; PMCID: PMC6047447.
Product with student/egress as first author, resulting from doctoral conclusion work; classified in Qualis Reference A1 (FI: 5.186); with >2 citations; and national and international collaboration (United States of America).
Line of research: Arboviruses
6. Bernal JCC, Great-grandson PF, Pereira JPT, Ibiapina HNDS, Sarraff LKS, Monteiro-Júnior C, da Silva Pereira H, Santos B, de Moura VM, de Oliveira SS, Lacerda M, Sampaio V, Kaefer IL, Gutiérrez JM, Bernarde PS, Fan HW, Sachett J, da Silva AMM, Monteiro WM. “Bad things come in small packages”: predicting venom-induced coagulopathy in Bothrops atrox bites using snake ontogenetic parameters. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2020 May; 58(5):388-396. DOI: 10.1080/15563650.2019.1648817. Epub 2019 Aug 6. PMID: 31387401.
Product with student/egress as first author, resulting from doctoral conclusion work; classified in Qualis Reference A1 (FI: 4.360); with >2 citations; and national and international collaboration (Costa Rica).
Line of research: Accidents caused by Venomous Animals
7. Francesconi VA, Francesconi F, Ramasawmy R, Romero GAS, Rosemary MDGC. Failure of fluconazole in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania guyanensis in the Brazilian Amazon: An open, nonrandomized phase 2 trial. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018 Feb 26; 12(2):e0006225. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006225. PMID: 29481560; PMCID: PMC5854414.
Product with student/egress as first author, resulting from doctoral conclusion work; classified in Qualis Reference A2 (FI: 3.885); with >2 citations; and national collaboration (UnB).
Line of Research: Tropical and Infectious Dermatology
8. Borba MGS, Val FFA, Sampaio VS, Alexandre MAA, Melo GC, Brito M, Mourão MPG, Brito-Sousa JD, Baía-da-Silva D, Guerra MVF, Hajjar LA, Pinto RC, Balieiro AAS, Pacheco AGF, Santos JDO Jr, Naveca FG, Xavier MS, Siqueira AM, Schwarzbold A, Croda J, Nogueira ML, Romero GAS, Bassat Q, Fontes CJ, Albuquerque BC, Daniel-Ribeiro CT, Monteiro WM, Lacerda MVG; CloroCovid-19 Team. Effect of High vs Low Doses of Chloroquine Diphosphate as Adjunctive Therapy for Patients Hospitalized With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Apr 24; 3(4):E208857. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.8857. PMID: 32330277.
Product with student/graduate as first author, several other master’s and doctoral students as co-authors, resulting from doctoral conclusion works; classified in Qualis Reference A1 (FI: 5.032); with >2 citations; and national and international collaboration (Spain).
Line of research: Unusual Diseases and Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases
Economic, social and cultural impact of the program.
Among the most frequent justifications of our students for entering our courses is the opportunity to take a postgraduate course in Tropical Medicine with specialization in the areas that constitute a health problem in the region, without the need to travel outside the North Region.
Both professors, students and graduates of this program work in undergraduate courses at UEA and other HEIs in Amazonas. Of the 25 permanent professors, 17 (68%) have a direct link with undergraduate courses.
At FMT-HVD, internships are offered to undergraduate students in the area of health and research initiation activities are developed (through the Scientific Initiation Support Program – PAIC, funded by the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Amazonas – FAPEAM), inserting undergraduate students from both UEA and other HEIs, in the dissertation and thesis research projects of the students of this program. strengthening the interaction between the graduate and undergraduate courses, generating benefits for both.
The PAIC of FMT-HVD completed 17 years of existence and, therefore, walked in parallel with the history of the PPGMT, feeding back on each other. The scholarships are currently fully funded by FAPEAM. In the FMT-HVD program, doctoral students can supervise CI students, exercising their capacity for supervision and scientific guidance. In this quadrennium, it is possible to grant optional credits to doctoral students who play this role in its entirety. The participation of PPGMT students in the FMT-HVD Scientific Initiation Congress (which has been held since 2011), evaluating papers and attending the various lectures that discuss specific scientific topics and research in Brazil also entitles them to an optional credit.
The FMT-HVD begins the training of young people while still in graduation through Scientific Initiation, offering the opportunity for admission to the master’s and/or doctorate. It also provides specialization for medical professionals in Infectious Diseases, Dermatology, Hepatology, Pediatrics, and multiprofessional residency (Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Psychology and Nursing). After completing their doctorate, they can apply to the program’s faculty. In addition, the institution has multiple partnerships with national and international institutions, which facilitates internships. It is possible, therefore, to train the scientist from his base in the undergraduate course to his maximum degree.
In the PPGMT, the participation of doctoral students in the coordination of projects in two categories has been provided:
1) Coordination of a project approved by a funding agency – In the State of Amazonas, the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Amazonas allows masters to compete in public notices for research funding. Thus, upon completing the master’s degree, the professional is able to raise the financial resources for his doctoral project. Thus, in the PPGMT, both graduates and masters degrees in other programs do not depend on funding from the advisor to be included in any project and thus apply for the doctoral course. Around 20% of doctoral students raised financial resources to carry out their thesis projects.
2) Coordination and supervision of Scientific Initiation projects – PPGMT doctoral students are encouraged to submit subprojects linked to the objectives of their thesis proposals to the FMT-HVD and UEA Scientific Initiation Support Program. Thus, they are trained in the orientation of CI students, thus contributing to the training of undergraduates.
3) In 2018, a reformulation of the PPGMT regulations was approved, which now allows the student regularly enrolled in the master’s course, for at least 12 months, to apply, at the time of the qualifying exam, to apply for migration to the doctorate, as long as they have the consent of the advisor.
As main examples of projects in the interior of the states of the Amazon, we have the following:
1. Line of Research: MALARIA
a) “Population-based survey for the estimation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDd) deficiency in the Brazilian Amazon and cost-effectiveness study of the rapid test for the detection of G6PDd in patients with malaria”, carried out in 43 municipalities of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia and Roraima, funded by the Ministry of Health, in order to know the prevalence of G6PD deficiency in the Brazilian Amazon, to propose safe measures for radical treatment of vivax malaria with primaquine, as well as the cost-effectiveness of this intervention. The project had a financial supplement from FAPEAM, through the approved proposal “Survey on the prevalence of G6PD deficiency in Amazonas: solving a gap for the safety of the radical cure of malaria by Plasmodium vivax using primaquine”, expanding the previous objective to 12 municipalities in the state of Amazonas.
b) In Eirunepé, a municipality in the Microregion of Juruá and Mesoregion of Southwest Amazonia, about 1160 km from Manaus, the project approved by FAPEAM “Demonstration study of malaria elimination in Eirunepé (AM), from the blocking of transmission, by the integrated and timely use of existing control tools (BLOQUEAR Study)” will be developed.
c) The study “SAFEPRIM – Implementation of the rapid test for the diagnosis of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in malaria diagnostic units in two municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon region”, with international funding, will be carried out in Rio Preto da Eva, a municipality in the interior of Amazonas, and in Mâncio Lima, in the interior of Acre.
d) In addition to these, 3 more studies (TRUST, QUALI-TRUST and SETA) are being developed in peripheral and rural areas of Manaus and Porto Velho, with international funding, to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of tafenoquine for the treatment of vivax malaria, with epidemiological, economic and social components.
2. Line of Research: ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY VENOMOUS ANIMALS
a) The study “Accessibility in the care of victims of snakebite accidents in a reference hospital in the Brazilian Amazon”, funded by FAPEAM, aims to understand the therapeutic itinerary and perceptions of patients coming from municipalities in the Metropolitan Region of Manaus, after an ophidian accident until antivenom therapy in a reference hospital.
b) The study “Innovating the surveillance of envenomation by snakes and other venomous animals in the indigenous population: unraveling what lies below the tip of the iceberg”, funded by FAPEAM, aims to estimate the burden of underreporting of morbidity and mortality due to envenomation of snakes and other venomous animals in the indigenous population of the state of Amazonas, in 4 Indigenous Health Districts.
c) The study “Ophidian accidents in riverine communities in the interior of Amazonas”, developed in several riverine communities of the Javari Valley and in the channel of the Solimões River, estimates the underreporting of accidents, deaths and sequelae in the population.
d) The studies “Decentralization of antivenom treatment in snakebites in the Brazilian Amazon: generating evidence on safety and effectiveness (SAVING)” and “Proposal for decentralization of the diagnosis and treatment of accidents by venomous animals in the DSEI of Amazonas”, both funded by the Ministry of Health, aim to plan the increase of access for the indigenous and riverine population, respectively. to snakebites, evaluating the creation of operational procedures and the validation of snakebite management protocols before the decentralization of this treatment.
3. Line of Research: ARBOVIRUSES
a) The studies “Evaluation of epidemiological, vectorial and human factors linked to the transmission of Zika virus and other emerging or reemerging arboviruses in two states of the Western Brazilian Amazon” and “Development of a classification model to support the differential diagnosis of febrile and/or exanthematous diseases using artificial intelligence techniques: Surveillance”, funded by the Ministry of Health and FAPEAM, respectively, they aim to clarify arboviruses responsible for febrile diseases in the municipalities of Manaus, Itacoatiara, Coari and Tefé, in the Aamzonas, in partnership with the Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation.
4. Line of Research: TROPICAL AND INFECTIOUS DERMATOLOGY
a) The study “Conducting the survey of physical disabilities in leprosy in the North and Northeast regions”, funded by the Ministry of Health, aims to estimate the prevalence of sequelae in leprosy patients in several Amazonian municipalities and in the Brazilian Northeast.
5. Line of Research: CHAGA’s DISEASE
a) The study “Implementation and evaluation of the flow of care of the health service for Chagas disease in the Metropolitan Region of Manaus, Amazonas”, funded by FAPEAM, aims to improve care for patients living in the area.
b) Researchers in this line of research also participate, together with technicians from the Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation, in the investigation of outbreaks of acute Chagas disease in the Amazon, offering laboratory diagnostic services and appropriate treatment to patients.
6. Line of Research: MYCOBACTERIOSIS
a) The study “Implementation of Xpert MTB/RIF® for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the interior of the state of Amazonas, Brazil”, funded by the Ministry of Health, aims to evaluate the decentralization of the molecular diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis to municipalities in the interior of the state of Amazonas, including vessels used in medical care along river channels.
It is estimated that research and extension activities developed by the PPGMT have already been carried out in about 50 municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon.
Interfaces with Basic Education
In this area, we have been working through the insertion of interns in research laboratories or acting as collaborators in the projects developed.
Internationalization, insertion (local, regional, national) and visibility of the program.
UEA has the International Relations Office (ARI), which aims to work on the international insertion of the University, disseminate opportunities abroad for students and professors, as well as work on international mobility. In addition, it assists foreign students and professors in the institution and in the drafting of cooperation agreements. Likewise, FMT-HVD has an Agreements Management, with the same functions. Currently, they have agreements in force with 38 foreign institutions from 26 countries on all continents. Activities that involve the “in/out” flow of students and faculty in joint projects of strategic interest are very frequent, involving institutions from all over the world. Internships of PPGMT doctoral students in laboratories abroad took place until 2019, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an interruption in travel, maintaining contacts at a distance.
Regarding the participation of co-authors with foreign affiliation in PPGMT publications, we highlight that the course had a positive evolution. During the period, PPGMT’s permanent professors published a total of 155 articles with at least one author with a foreign affiliation, adding up to a total of 720 foreign authors, affiliated with 357 institutions from all continents. While in the previous evaluation (2013-2016) this proportion was 31.2%, between 2017-2020, 41.7% (155/372) of the articles published had at least one researcher affiliated with a foreign institution as co-author. Thus, there is a concrete sign of internationalization of the PPGMT, with great interaction of its research groups with internationally renowned foreign researchers. Many of these publications originated from visits by our professors and students to foreign laboratories, in formal sandwich doctoral programs, but above all aided by project resources with international funding for multicenter projects.
These publications are the result of an intense technical-scientific exchange of professors and students, which also allowed the training of people and the elaboration of proposals for technological innovation or knowledge transfer. Of particular note are the PPGMT’s collaborations with the Instituto de Salud Global (ISGlobal-Spain), the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT-Portugal), the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute (Australia), Sardar Patel Medical College (India), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru), John Hopkins School of Medicine, Emory University (USA), Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, McGill University, The University of Melbourne, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu (University of Barcelona), PATH (Seattle), GlaxoSmithKline, Universitat de Barcelona, University of Melbourne, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Universidad del Valle, Manhiça Health Research Centre (Mozambique), University of Oxford, University of Melbourne, Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta), Pasteur Institute, Menzies School of Health Research and Charles Darwin University, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, Medicines for Malaria Venture (Geneva), University of Costa Rica, among others.
National and international professors and researchers are frequently invited to give lectures at the Scientific Sessions (which takes place every Wednesday, from 11 am to 12 pm, at the Dr. Luiz Montenegro Auditorium of FMT-HVD) or at sporadic events held by UEA or FMT-HVD. There are also frequent invitations to participate in the program’s dissertation and thesis judging committees.
The line of research in Mycobacteriosis illustrates well the process of internationalization of the program over the years. Although tuberculosis has historically been considered a serious public health problem in the state of Amazonas, it was only in 2011 that a research group was created at FMT-HVD, based on the initiative of a graduate of the PPGMT. Initially named the Tuberculosis Research Center of Amazonas, the group has had international collaboration since its inception, with FMT-HVD being one of the centers of the study to implement GenXpert MTB RIF in Brazil. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this study took place in partnership with Fiocruz-RJ and the University of Amsterdam, with Professor Frank Cobelens as principal investigator. In 2014, due to the demand for projects, the FMT-HVD management created the Mycobacteriosis Management and the research group was renamed the International Research Center on Mycobacteriosis. In the same year, the group was part of the winning proposal of CNPq’s Without Borders Program, which selected Professor Miguel Viveiros from Universidade Nova Lisboa, Portugal, as a special visiting researcher. Professor Miguel visited FMT-HVD on two occasions, playing a key role in structuring the Mycobacteriosis Laboratory. In 2015, after the visit of American researchers led by Dr. Peter Kim, FMT-HVD was selected as one of the five Brazilian centers of the “Prospective and Observational Regional Research on Tuberculosis in Brazil (RePORT-Brazil)”. This is a cohort of active tuberculosis cases and their respective contacts with more than 2,000 participants included throughout Brazil. The study is funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Department of Science and Technology (DECIT), conducted in partnership with Vanderbilt University, USA. In June 2019, the group organized the 1st. Amazonian Seminar on Clinical Research in Tuberculosis, with the presence of professors Timothy Sterling, from Vanderbilt University, Miguel Viveiros and João Perdigão, from Nova Lisboa University, as well as researchers from other Brazilian institutions. In the same year, the center was visited by Johns Hopkins researchers, led by professors Richard Chaisson and Jonathan Golub. This visit resulted in the signing of a cooperation agreement for research and qualification of human resources between FMT-HVD and Johns Hopkins, in the line of tuberculosis and HIV. Six studies are currently being conducted in partnership with Johns Hopkins. In addition, the mycobacteriosis research line maintains collaborations with Emory University (Prof. Nieel Gandhi), Macgill University (Prof. Richard Menzies), Canada and the University of Cape Town (Prof. Keertan Dheda), South Africa.
Co-supervision agreement and joint double titling
In 2014, a co-supervision agreement was signed with the University of Barcelona (Spain), with whom UEA already maintains close technical and scientific collaboration. Unfortunately, so far we have not had any students who have opted for this type of double degree, despite the disclosure of the agreement.
Foreign Visiting Professors
Professors Quique Bassat (Instituto de Salud Global-ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain) and Henrique Silveira (Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine-IHMT, Lisbon, Portugal) are visiting professors at PPGMT, both being international references in their areas. The first works in the Malaria research line and the second, in the Chagas Disease and Tropical and Infectious Dermatology lines. Both actively participate in the program’s boards, co-supervisions, courses in English, and research projects.
Attracting students from abroad and co-op programs
Throughout these years of operation, the PPGMT has received many foreign students from other Latin American, African and European countries, which has added an important experience of internationalization in the relationship between faculty and students, even expanding the horizons of the main lines of research of the program.
Since 2016, the PPGMT has received foreign master’s and doctoral students through the PAEC OAS-GCUB Brazil Scholarship Program, which is the result of cooperation between the International Cooperation Group of Brazilian Universities (GCUB) and the Organization of American States (OAS), with support from the Division of Educational Issues and Portuguese Language of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil (DELP/MRE) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). This program provided one of the most important cooperation initiatives for the development of the internationalization of the PPGMT. We have received students with a high academic level and high potential for impact on the socioeconomic development of their countries of origin. To date, 12 foreign students have joined the PAEC-OAS-GCUB, 4 doctoral students and 8 master’s students, from Venezuela, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Mexico. The PPGMT has been able to offer scholarships to all its foreign students, in addition to accommodation at FMT-HVD. Of the total number of foreign students in this program, 5 of them have already defended their master’s dissertations and 1 doctoral thesis has been defended. Today, the PPGMT has 3 doctoral students and 3 master’s students enrolled in the PAEC/OAS. Four students (2 master’s and 2 doctorate) have already been selected for admission to the PPGMT in 2022, via PAEC/OAS.
In 2020, UEA joined two more international cooperation programs, the Higher Education Teacher Training Program for African Countries (PROAFRI) and the Higher Education Teacher Training Program for Latin America and the Caribbean (ProLAC). PROAFRI aims to support stricto sensu postgraduate training for higher education teachers at universities in Mozambique, through the granting of academic scholarships offered by Brazilian universities associated with GCUB. The objective of ProLAC is to contribute to the strengthening of Higher Education and scientific and technological production in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as to promote the development and integration of the Region by increasing the number of PhDs in Higher Education Institutions. We believe that still in 2021 the PPGMT will receive foreign students selected by these programs, having informed that this year it will be able to offer vacancies with scholarships for master’s (2) and doctorate (3).
In addition to these formal programs, the PPGMT has already trained masters and doctors from Spain, Colombia and São Tomé and Príncipe. Doctoral students from Colombia, Mexico, Kenya, Nigeria and Venezuela, selected by the program’s normal public notices, are also enrolled. In the case of the doctorate, the selection is carried out continuously, with new applications starting in February and ending in September of each year, and the number of vacancies depends on the availability of an advisor.
The presence of foreign students and researchers makes the living quarters, corridors, laboratories, classrooms/auditoriums and research wards, where our students circulate, a multilingual environment rich in experiences from other countries.
During the evaluation period, the following disciplines were carried out in conjunction with other PPGs:
– In 2020, the Discipline “Mixed Methods Research in Nursing and Health” (02 credits) was offered in the Interinstitutional modality with an International partnership. With the coordination of UFSC, it involved Programs from seven Brazilian Universities (UFSC – FURG – UFRGS – UFSM – UFPR – UFPB – UEA) in INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP with the Latin American Chapter of Mixed Methods Research of the “Mixed Methods International Research Association” (MMIRA). The coordination at UEA was by prof. Flávia Ramos, with the participation of more than 40 students.
In order to stimulate students’ access to English-language content, teachers are encouraged to offer written material in this language. It also encourages the reading and writing of content in the same language.
The official website of the PPGMT is also bilingual, expanding accessibility to candidates and students whose language is bilingual.
International events
PPGMT professors have participated in the organization of several international scientific events, held in Brazil or abroad. In these events, they have acted as presidents, members of scientific committees, speakers or moderators. We highlight here the following events:
a) 5th International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research (ICPVR 2017), chaired by the permanent professor Marcus Vinícius Guimarães de Lacerda and having in the scientific team the permanent professors Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro and Stefanie Costa Pinto Lopes. The event was held in Manaus and was attended by about 500 participants from all over the world;
b) HIV/HELP AMERICAS, 2017, held in Mexico City, with the permanent professor Marcus Vinícius Guimarães de Lacerda in the organization;
c) 20th World Congress of the International Society on Toxinology 2019, held in Buenos Aires, with permanent professor Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro in the organization;
d) Virus by the River: Arbovirus emergence and re-emergence in the tropics 2019, held in Manaus, with permanent professors Pauulo Filemon Paoluci Pimenta and Marcus Vinícius Guimarães de Lacerda in the organization;
e) 2nd meeting on Histoplasmosis in the Americas and Caribbean, held in Manaus in 2019, with the permanent professor Marcus Vinícius Guimarães de Lacerda in the organization;
f) Workshop on Clinical Management in Tuberculosis, held in Manaus in 2019, with the permanent professor Marcelo Cordeiro dos Santos in the organization;
g) World Hepatitis Summit 2017, held in São Paulo, with permanent professor Adele Benzaken in the organization;
h) 7th International Congress of the Society for Vector Ecology (SOVE), held in 2017 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, with the permanent professor Pauulo Filemon Paoluci Pimenta in the organization;
i) Latin American Society for Vector Ecology, held in 2019 in Manaus, with permanent professor Paulo Filemon Paoluci Pimenta as president.
These are 9 of dozens of international events with the participation of PPGMT professors and students, working in the organization and presenting dozens of scientific papers. Also noteworthy is the large number of national events, but which have several international guests, in which the faculty and students are involved, highlighting the HIV/AIDS Congress, Viral Hepatitis Congress, Congress of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine, Brazilian Congress and Parasitology, Brazilian Congress of Infectious Diseases, Congress of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology, Brazilian Congress of Microbiology, among others.
Foreign-funded projects
About 16% of PPGMT’s projects are internationally funded, with emphasis on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Institutes of Health, GlaxoSmithKline, Johns Hopkins University, and Medicines for Malaria Venture. However, when considering the volume of financial resources raised, which totals about 38 million reais until April 2020, it can be seen that 60% came from international financiers.
Student mobility
Despite the decrease in funding for sandwich doctorate programs abroad, for which six PPGMT students were contemplated, the coordination encourages students, especially doctoral students, to have an opportunity in the laboratory of a foreign collaborator. In this sense, the collaboration of foreign researchers Henrique Silveira (Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of Lisbon, Portugal), Hernando del Portillo (ISGLOBAL, Barcelona, Spain) and Quique Bassat (ISGLOBAL, Barcelona, Spain) stands out, who has frequently received PPGMT students. PPGMT students have also done sandwich doctorates in the United Kingdom (London School) and the United States (NIH).
Participation in international committees
Several PPGMT professors participate or have participated in important international committees in their areas of expertise, highlighting the following:
1. Adele Schwartz Benzaken: She currently serves as Senior Global Medical Director at the AIDS Health Care Foundation, also Regional Director for Latin America of the International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI), member of the certification committee for the elimination of syphilis and HIV of PAHO-Pan American Health Organization, vice president of the expert committee of the World Health Organization “WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Committee on HIV and Viral” Hepatitis (STAC-HIVHEP)” and vice-chair of the “Steering committee of the 2025 target setting and 2020-2030 resource needs and impact estimation” of UNAIDS/Geneva.
2. Flávia Regina Souza Ramos: Coordinated the International Cooperation subproject for the training of human resources for primary health care in Haiti, a partnership between UFSC and the Ministry of Health (MS), which was part of the Brazil/Cuba/Haiti Memorandum of Cooperation.
3. Marcus Vinícius Guimarães Lacerda: Adjunct Professor at Kent State University. He is a consultant to the World Health Organization on Plasmodium vivax malaria. For some years now, it has actively participated in initiatives aimed at the elimination of malaria, such as malERA, MESA and Mesoamerica Initiative. He is a member of the Expert Scientific Advisory Committee (ESAC) of the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN). He was a member of the Malaria Task Force for the elimination of malaria in Mesoamerica (Salud Mesoamerica Initiative 2015/ISGLOBAL).
4. Maria das Graças Costa Alecrim: Member of the Technical Committee for Malaria Treatment of the World Health Organization.
5. Paulo Filemon Paolucci Pimenta: He was a Senior Visiting Professor at the University of Notre Dame-USA through the Fulbright Program. For 10 years he was Professor of the International Course of Vector Biology organized by Colorado State University, WHO and McArthur Foundation, giving classes and conferences in dozens of countries. Currently, several former students are active researchers in the field of vector biology at several universities in different countries. He is the founding President of the Brazilian Society of Vector Ecology (Brazil-SOVE), organized in 2010 as a sister entity of the International SOVE (Society of Vector Ecology).
6. Sinésio Talhari: He was an advisor to the Peruvian Dermatology Program and a member of the “WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Leprosy” of the World Health Organization.
7. Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro: Member of the Karma Consortium (Institute Pasteur Paris) and the Ivermectin Research for Malaria Elimination Network.
Editors and reviewers of international journals
Of the 25 permanent professors of the PPGMT, 24 (96%) acted as reviewers of a total of 127 scientific journals, most of them (97; 76.4%) foreign journals, most of them of high impact, such as American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygine, Annals of Human Genetics, BMC Infectious Diseases, BMC Medicine, BMC Microbiology, BMC Public Health, Bulletin Of The World Health Organization, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Current Medicinal Chemistry, Cytokine, Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Human Immunology, Infection and Immunity, Infection Genetics and Evolution, International Journal of Dermatology, International Journal of STD & AIDS, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Malaria Journal, Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Parasites & Vectors, Parasitology International, PLoS Medicine, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Plos One, Scientific Reports, Toxicon, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and Vector Borne And Zoonotic Diseases.
A total of 11 (44%) faculty members are members of the editorial board of important international journals, such as Parasite Epidemiology and Control, PLoS One, Aktvelle Dermatologie, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Malaria Journal, Frontiers in Tropical Diseases, Frontiers in Immunology, and Clinical and Developmental Immunology.
Acting as an evaluator for international funding agencies
The professors of the PPGMT have worked as an expert opinion for several international funding agencies. Among them, the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), Welcome Trust, Swiss Research Foundation, COLCIENCIAS (Colombia), Fundación para la Promoción de la Investigación y la Tecnologia and the Pan American Health Organization stand out.
Local, regional and national insertion
The interactions of the PPGMT with other PPGs and other teaching and research centers in the area are numerous and have contributed to regional, national and international development in different lines of cutting-edge research. PPGMT professors are part of research teams from several national multicenter projects that form very active collaboration networks in projects that unite different experiences between institutions. In the period 2017-2020, our professors published scientific articles with 1273 researchers from 172 different Brazilian institutions, from all regions of the country and in all lines of research. Within the scope of the Legal Amazon, projects in solidarity with public universities (UFAC, UNIR, UFPA, UFOPA, UFRR, etc.), the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), the Leônidas & Maria Deane Research Institute (Fiocruz Manaus) and private institutions in the region, as well as with the state health foundations of Amazonas (especially the Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation – FVS-AM, The University of Amazonas (FAHEMOAM) are frequent and very productive, in which the PPGMT trains people for the other staff and transfers health technology to smaller research groups.
This program is consolidated and expanding and is located in the North Region of the country, an area with a low number of graduate programs, more specifically in the health area. It is a proposal with high relevance for the training of human resources and the development of research in Tropical Medicine. Even though it is a young program, because we operate in a region with a deficit of professionals in the area, we have established partnerships with several local institutions, contributing and receiving collaboration in the development of academic and research activities. The program’s experience with the Senior Visiting Researchers (PVS) strategy, which was first tested at the PPGMT, served to demonstrate the efficiency of the method, which was replicated for other health foundations in the state, and was crucial for the structuring of other graduate courses in health at UEA, such as Applied Sciences to Hematology (UEA/HEMOAM) and Applied Sciences to Dermatology (UEA/FUAM). The previous experience of the PPGMT secretaries with filling out the CAPES collection was also replicated and taught to the other secretaries of UEA’s graduate programs.
It is also noteworthy that 4 graduates are currently coordinators of stricto sensu graduate courses in Amazonas. The formation of a solid culture in the management of stricto sensu graduate programs in the North of the country is also a secondary objective of this strategy, in the expectation that more and more programs will be opened, multiplying training capacities to effectively contribute to the definitive overcoming of regional inequalities in relation to the number of masters and doctors. compared to the rest of the country.
Inter-Institutional Cooperation Projects for Human Resources Training
An important achievement in the area of National Exchanges was the approval of the projects “Strengthening of Graduate Programs, in the Amazon and Extra-Amazon, with emphasis on snakebite poisoning: a strategy for personnel training and interdisciplinarity”, by the CAPES PROCAD PUBLIC NOTICE No. 071/2013, and “Study of the predictors of clinical outcome in HIV/AIDS patients in the Amazon”, by the CAPES National Program for Academic Cooperation in the Amazon No. 21/2018. In the first proposal, the PPGMT, the PPG in Toxinology of the Butantan Institute (PPGTox) and the PPG in Environmental Sciences of the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT) (PPGCiamb) seek the joint and multidisciplinary training of masters and doctors who work on problems related to snakebite poisoning from the clinical, toxinological and environmental perspectives, advancing the knowledge of the problems of the Amazon. In this area, PPGTox (IBU) has extensive experience in studies of the composition and mechanism of action of venoms and antivenoms. In addition, IB is an international reference center in the production of antivenoms used in the treatment of these accidents. The FMT-HVD is the reference in the state of Amazonas for this type of disease. In the second proposal, the PPGMT joins forces with the PPG in Clinical Research in Infectious Diseases (PCDI) of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases Evandro Chagas/FIOCRUZ and with the PPG in Health Sciences of the Federal University of Amazonas, with the objective of developing interdisciplinary research in the fields of immunology, microbiology, radiology and diagnostic imaging. pathology and necropsy, physiotherapy and metabolism in patients living with HIV/AIDS. Considering the complementarity of the expertise of each team, it is expected that these interactions will bring important results to the PPGs involved, through interinstitutional cooperation that will allow a multidisciplinary training of students, with internships and courses in other programs. The exchange is intense and many students from these institutions develop their dissertations and theses in partnership with our professors in Manaus and vice versa. This ensures visibility of the program and its institutions, as well as allowing our students to work together with students from other graduate programs.
In April 2020, the PPGMT entered into a partnership with other graduate courses (PPG in Collective Health at IESC/UFRJ, PPG in Biophysics at IBCCF/UFRJ and PPG in Production Engineering at COPPE/UFRJ), for the submission of a proposal to the Emergency Selection Notice I – Prevention and Combat of Outbreaks, Endemic, Epidemics and Pandemics (CAPES-EPIDEMIAS – PCSEEP-20201670870P), who was approved with 12 doctoral and 12 postdoctoral fellowships. A joint selection process was carried out among the contemplated PPGs, in August 2020, and 7 PPGMT students were approved and enrolled, of which 6 receive a scholarship from this notice. One candidate did not have the profile of a scholarship holder, as she had an employment relationship, but was enrolled after the recommendation of the selection committee. Incoming doctoral students develop their thesis projects related to mapping, diagnosis, and responses to COVID-19, with emphasis on environmental aspects and economic activities related to the appearance of the disease in peripheral populations, at the end offering evidence for risk mitigation. To this end, a collaboration network was formed, bringing together research groups in processes that have allowed the interaction and integration of scientific registration initiatives and sharing of different areas of knowledge. Thus, as impacts of this project, we can mention: a) The promotion of participation between Research Groups and Graduate Programs, generating collaborations and new knowledge; b) Increased academic productivity; c) Production of evidence for the improvement of public health, its governance and implementation; d) The structuring of a Think Tank, gathering and converging efforts to investigate and reflect critically and strategically on the topics commented on, with the objective of generating public policies; e) Offering joint courses, with the participation of professors and students from all programs involved; f) Streamlining the provision of information, aligning science with public authorities for strategic decision-making; g) Innovation applied to the control of endemic, epidemic, emerging and re-emerging diseases; and h) Improvement of health care services and epidemiological surveillance in the different localities.
In 2018, the GENOMIC NETWORK FOR HEALTH SURVEILLANCE was formed, composed of FMT-HVD, FVS-AM, FHEMOAM, FCECON, FUAM, INPA and ILMD/FIOCRUZ Amazônia. The network is financed with resources allocated by FAPEAM, which will allow the acquisition and maintenance of equipment, increase the arsenal that the State of Amazonas has for the shared use of this equipment by institutions, enhance the development of more projects, enhance the training of masters and doctors, increase the number of high-impact scientific publications, among other actions planned for four years. The consortium has been vital in providing diagnostic support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring molecular diagnosis for both the public health network (FVS-AM/LACEN) and research projects (Clorocovid-19) linked to the PPGMT.
Scientific collaborations with federal and state universities in all states of the country (with emphasis on UFRJ, UFMG, UFBA, UFSC, UFRGS, USP, UNICAMP and UNESP) were evidenced, as well as with research institutes, such as the Butantan Institute, with practically all Fiocruz units (especially the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, René Rachou Institute, Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Gonçalo Moniz Institute and Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases), Emílio Ribas Institute of Infectious Diseases, National Cancer Institute and Evandro Chagas Institute.
In addition, there were several collaborations with the Ministry of Health (Department of STI/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis, National Malaria and Tuberculosis Programs, for example), several state and municipal health departments, and several public and private hospitals.
NATIONAL NETWORK OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN TROPICAL DISEASES/TROPICAL MEDICINE – Currently composed of 9 programs, at the initiative of the PPGMT coordination. The implementation of the following activities will be stimulated within the framework of the network:
i) Facilitate the exchange of collaborating and visiting professors between the programs, contributing with important actions for the development of the programs, with productive and good quality exchanges, respecting that the support of each program, however, must always be based on the set of its permanent professors;
ii) Promote/organize national and international scientific events, involving the faculty and students of the programs;
iii) Promote inter-institutional agreements in the area of education, with mobilization of the student body of the programs, through the creation of shared disciplines between the programs, especially taught in English. In the PPGMT, all credits obtained in other Tropical Medicine/Tropical Diseases programs from other institutions in Brazil can already be accepted, which will be computed by the PPGMT in specific curricular units. This last change was an achievement obtained after the creation of the National Network of Graduate Programs in Tropical Diseases/Tropical Medicine.
iv) Promote inter-institutional agreements in the area of research, with mobilization of the student body of the programs, especially doctoral students, by stimulating internships in institutions with partner courses;
v) Demand the launch of public notices that guarantee funding for projects within the scope of the network;
vi) Promote the exchange of postdoctoral researchers among the network’s courses, especially with the support of funding agencies;
vii) Encourage collaboration among the network’s faculty members through a policy of multicenter projects and joint scientific publications;
viii) Performance of the faculty of the network’s courses in lectures, examination boards, courses and other didactic activities, with extension to the entire network;
ix) Encourage the joint raising of financial resources from national and international funding agencies;
x) Creation of a space for the annual evaluation of the network’s activities at the congresses of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine.
In 2018, UEA and FMT-HVD signed an agreement with Inmetro and IPEM-AM, enabling the use of a fluvial Scientific Research unit, a vessel that navigates through municipalities in all regions of the state of Amazonas. Currently, the PPGMT already has some master’s dissertations being developed based on the results of data collection on these trips. The vessel will hold around ten people, including metrologists and researchers, in addition to the crew.
Actions in the interior of the Amazon
Taking advantage of the structure of UEA in the interior of the state, as well as the scope of FMT-HVD activities, the PPGMT develops several activities in several municipalities, including research projects and extension activities, contributing to the development of these places, in close partnership with the state and municipal health departments, as well as with some departments of the Ministry of Health. that has been ensuring support for the activities developed. In addition to research activities, medical care, laboratory tests, training of health professionals, health education activities and technical advice are offered in these communities.
Selected projects starting in 2017:
Project 1: Sexually transmitted infections: Surveillance of the etiology of urethritis and genital ulcers in Brazil and analysis of antimicrobial resistance
Coordinating Professor: Adele Benzaken
Line of Research: SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS AND VIRAL HEPATITIS
This study was funded by the Ministry of Health, involving master’s and doctoral students.
Project 2: Persistence of Zika virus in body fluids of patients with Zika-ZIKABRA virus infection
Coordinating Professors: Camila Helena Aguiar Bôtto de Menezes and Marcus Vinícius Guimarães de Lacerda
Line of Research: ARBOVIRUSES
This study was funded by WHO/PAHO, the Wellcome Trust and the Ministry of Health, involving master’s and doctoral students.
Project 3: Development and validation of a clinical score for the diagnostic screening of pulmonary tuberculosis in individuals living with HIV
Coordinating Professor: Marcelo Cordeiro dos Santos
Line of Research: MYCOBACTERIOSIS
This study was funded by CNPq, involving master’s students.
Selected projects starting in 2018:
Project 1: Survey on the prevalence of G6PD deficiency in Amazonas: solving a gap for the safety of the radical cure of malaria by Plasmodium vivax using primaquine
Coordinating Professors: Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro and Marcus Vinícius Guimarães de Lacerda
Line of Research: MALARIA
This study was funded by the Ministry of Health, involving master’s and doctoral students.
Project 2: TMC207LEP2001 – Open-Label Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of TMC207 in Multibacillary Leprosy Research Participants
Line of Research: TROPICAL AND INFECTIOUS DERMATOLOGY
This study was funded by Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceuticals, involving master’s and doctoral students.
Project 3: Healthy Environments and Favorable Practice Environments – Proposition of Analysis Instruments for Health Work
Coordinating Professors: Flávia Regina Souza Ramos
Line of Research: UNUSUAL DISEASES AND EMERGING AND RE-EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
This study was funded by CNPq, involving master’s and doctoral students.
Selected projects starting in 2019:
Project 1: REPLICK- Multicenter Study of the Natural History and Therapeutic Response of Chikungunya focusing on Acute and Chronic Musculoskeletal Manifestations
Coordinating Professors: Marcus Vinícius Guimarães de Lacerda
Line of Research: ARBOVIRUSES
This study was funded by the Ministry of Health, involving master’s and doctoral students.
Project 2: Implementation and evaluation of the flow of care in the health service for Chagas disease in the metropolitan region of Manaus, Amazonas
Coordinating Professors: Maria das Graças Vale Barbosa Guerra and Jorge Augusto de Oliveira Guerra
Line of Research: CHAGAS DISEASE
This work was funded by FAPEAM, involving master’s and doctoral students.
Project 3: Integrative Biology Applied to Human Health
Local Coordinating Professor: Vanderson de Souza Sampaio
Lines of Research: MALARIA and ARBOVIRUSES
This study was funded by FAPESP, involving master’s and doctoral students.
Selected projects starting in 2020:
Project 1: The application of machine learning for prediction of clinical outcomes in hospitalized adult patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome due to SARS-COV-2
Local Coordinating Professor: Vanderson de Souza Sampaio
Lines of Research: UNUSUAL DISEASES AND EMERGING AND RE-EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
This study was funded by the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Amazonas (FAPEAM), involving master’s and doctoral students.
Project 2: Decentralization of antivenom treatment in snakebites in the Brazilian Amazon: generating evidence on safety and effectiveness (SAVING)
Coordinating Professors: Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro
Line of Research: ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY VENOMOUS ANIMALS
Project 3: Genomic and metabolic characterization of highly exposed but resistant individuals to Mtb infection (GWAS)
Coordinating Professors: Marcelo Cordeiro dos Santos
Line of Research: MYCOBACTERIOSIS
3.3.2. Visibility of the programme
The FMT-HVD participated in a public notice for the popularization of FAPEAM’s science, and produced a 25-minute documentary (Pedro Teixeira 25) about the history of FMT-HVD and its routine of care, teaching and research. The documentary mentions in several parts the close partnership with PPGMT and UEA, giving greater visibility to the program. The press offices of FMT-HVD and UEA have played an important role in disseminating the research work carried out within the scope of the PPGMT. Many faculty and students have made an effort to disseminate their results to a more lay audience, whether in television, radio, writing, or on the internet. Many interviews were published in the FAPEAM magazine Amazonas Faz Ciência. The PPGMT has a COM on the UEA website (www.pos.uea.edu.br/mtrop), with English translation since 2018 and on the FMT-HVD website (www.fmt.am.gov.br). This allows for greater visibility of the program.
Another means of disseminating PPGMT research is the website of the Carlos Borborema Clinical Research Institute (IPCCB) (https://www.ipccb.org/grupos-de-pesquisa). The IPCCB is an interdisciplinary, multiprofessional and interinstitutional research group dedicated to the study of the main infectious diseases in the Brazilian Amazon. Opened on August 21, 2017. It is maintained and sponsored by FMT-HVD, being part of its structure. The resources for the construction of the physical infrastructure were financed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, FAPEAM and FPS. Currently, the Institute works as a consortium signed by FMT-HVD with UEA and Fiocruz Amazônia. The PPGMT’s lines of research that are developed in this space are MALARIA, ARBOVIRUSES, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS AND VIRAL HEPATITIS, MYCOBACTERIOSIS, ACCIDENTS BY VENOMOUS ANIMALS AND UNUSUAL DISEASES AND REEMERGING DISEASES. On social networks (Instagram (@ppgmt.uea) and Facebook (facebook.com/ppgmt.uea.fmt)), there are daily updated pages of the PPGMT, THE ICPCB, UAA and FMT-HVD. All of them publish news about the PPGMT, such as qualifications and defenses, notices of selection processes, media news related to the PPG, publications of professors and research results. The posters for the dissemination of the selection processes are now sent in physical media to various HEIs and IP around the world, as well as calls on the websites of highly visible international societies and journals.