The researchers' trip to the US aimed to carry out genotyping in isolated parasitic populations of workers in urban gardens in Salvador, as this is Pedro Santos' master's theme, which will be defended in March 2020. The research project is being developed in collaboration with the University of Tulane, and for this reason, the Brazilian researchers were invited by the director of Admissions at the School of Public Health, Sue Barrosse, to share their scientific journeys.

The project aims to understand the main factors that involve the presence and persistence of the disease schistosomiasis in urban environments. “Thus, the locations in Salvador are analyzed and, if Schistosoma mansoni, the parasite that causes the disease, is present, we investigate its epidemiological and genetic characteristics. The parasitological investigation, more precisely, the stool exams, take place in the Clinical Parasitology laboratory, located on the Cabula Campus”, explains Professor Lúcio Barbosa. The project involves graduate students, with the majority of the team formed by former students of the Biomedicine course at Bahiana.

The interview given to Tulane University was published on the institution's Facebook page and is the result of the constant process of internationalization of the Bahiana, as explained by Professor Geraldo Ferraro, coordinator of the Biomedicine course at Bahiana.