Research on Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease, revealing its remarkable subspecific diversity, its population structures, molecular ecology, molecular epidemiology, and genetic mechanisms, and experimentally proving its extant capacity for genetic exchange. Development of peptide-based, lineage-specific serology. Similarly, for Leishmania molecular methods have been applied to analyse the structure of natural populations and phylogenetic relationships. Analysis of L. donovani antigenic diversity and host immune response, devising a prototype rapid diagnostic test (RDT) to detect relapse after chemotherapy. PI and coordinator of international research networks ChagasEpiNet (15 partners) for Trypanosoma cruzi and LeishEpiNetSA (12 partners) for Leishmania. Many PhD (35) students.

Examples of achievements in research:

• Described the biochemical and genetic heterogeneity of Trypanosoma cruzi (Nature)

• Pioneered the concept of separate, overlapping and enzootic transmission cycles as applied to the epidemiology of Chagas disease.

• Linked distinct genotypes of T. cruzi to the diverse chronic manifestations of Chagas disease (Brazil and Venezuela) (Lancet; Clinical Infectious Diseases).

• Contributed to the Southern Cone Initiative to control Chagas disease (with Chris Schofield and João Carlos Pinto Dias), in particular on serological surveillance (Chile), and relevance of serology to monitoring the success of control programmes.

• Obtained the first experimental proof of genetic exchange in T. cruzi (Nature).

• Showed the synonomy of Leishmania chagasi and Leishmania infantum [with Isabel Mauricio]

• Demonstrated L. braziliensis/L. peruviana hybrids and evidence of recombination events in Viannia populations in Peru [with Debbie Nolder].

• Drew attention to the global threat of visceral leishmaniasis/HIV co-infection (Nature).

• Visualisation of hybrid transgenic Leishmania in sand flies (with Petr Volf et al.)

• Extensive molecular epidemiological studies of T. cruzi and leishmaniasis.

• A lineage-specific rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for T. cruzi, directly applicable to clinical association studies of humans and to mammal reservoir host discovery (with Tapan Bhattacharyya and CorisBio).

• An RDT for point-of-care (POC) prediction of post-chemotherapeutic relapse of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) (India; Bhattacharyya, Coris BioConcept)

• Genetic crosses of Leishmania and analysis of hybrids derived from two sand fly species (with Matthew Yeo, David Mateus, and Charles University, Prague).

• Described the ecotopes of several Amazonian triatomine species and explained the absence of endemic (domestic) Chagas disease in the Amazon Basin.

• Established spool-and-line mammal tracking, for ecological studies of mammals.

• Demonstrated that silvatic R. prolixus from palms can invade houses in Venezuela.

Future research proposals are currently under consideration, and will concern Chagas disease, Leishmaniasis, and helminths, incorporating, for example, diagnostic specificity and sensitivity, and impact of genetic exchange on epidemiology.