Laboratory of Clinical Research in Neuroinfections joins the Global Virus Network

The Laboratory of Clinical Research in Neuroinfections (LapClin-Neuro) of the Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases (INI/Fiocruz), coordinated by researcher Ana Claudia Celestino Bezerra Leite, joined in February, in this year, the Global Virus Network (GVN), a collaboration network for research on viruses, present in 36 countries and with 67 affiliated centers of excellence. The laboratory's participation aims to enhance research in the area of infectious diseases of the nervous system, thus seeking greater interaction with the world's leading virologists and enabling collaboration and funding for various projects in the area of neuroinfections.

The Global Virus Network (GVN) was founded in 2011 and promotes the collaboration of its participants through conferences, training, courses, lectures and seminars. According to Abelardo Araújo, researcher at Lapclin-Neuro, the work groups, which are called task forces, are coordinated to identify and mitigate the effects of several viruses that are or may become pandemic. In addition to producing knowledge, such groups develop work in partnerships that can lead more quickly to new treatments, drugs or vaccines.

“Given the situation in which Brazil is inserted as to funding of clinical research, being part of this network is a strategic position for our laboratory, as GVN has a branch that operates with partnerships with international development agencies and groups linked to several governments”, highlighted Abelardo. Further according to the researcher, continuing the studies on neurological manifestations of diseases such as COVID-19, the HTLV-1 Neurological Complex, in addition to the deleterious effects of viruses prevalent in Brazil, such as zika, chikungunya, HIV and dengue, among others, will remain the mission of the Laboratory of Clinical Research in Neuroinfections.