Adaptability and flexibility, paradigms of survival in Leishmania parasites

Abstract

The Molecular Physiology Laboratory was created in 1994, a few months upon the return of Alicia Ponte-Sucre (APS) to the Chair of Physiology, after completing her Doctorate in Sciences at the Central University of Venezuela. Although the academic career of APS had begun in 1981, when she joined the Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UCV as an Instructor, it was at the end of her doctorate when she decided to become independent and organized her research group. The leitmotif of the Molecular Physiology Laboratory has been to understand fundamental processes involved in essential functions related to homeostasis and preservation of life. The main focus in their research has been understanding the physiological mechanisms responsible for drug- susceptibility/resistance, in the metabolically flexible parasites such as Leishmania and to a lesser extent Trypanosoma. The comprehensive approach that this laboratory has made in this field of health research is based on the training that APS, as well as her colleagues, have in multiple areas of knowledge including, biochemistry, biophysics, cellular biology, physiology and pharmacology. In 1988 when APS began her doctorate, she decided to direct her research towards this area of knowledge, closely related to health and development, that constitute important challenges in areas of the world that include her country of origin, Venezuela. Since then, her laboratory has focused on the understanding the physiology and exploring the pharmacology of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), such as leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis,produced by the unicellular parasites Leishmania and Trypanosoma. This short article summarizes the scientific production, teaching activities, and services provided by the Molecular Physiology Laboratory upon reaching 25 years of existence.