Principal Investigator (PI)
“Severo Ochoa” Molecular Biology Center and University of León
The Foundation is providing £276,018 in support.
Raquel Alvarez Velilla
The approach will compare two in vitro assays based on Leishmania intracellular infections in established cell lines vs primary cultures (spleen explants). A high throughput platform will be accessed as part of the first approach, while 3D-primary cultures containing the elements responsible for the immune response will be used in the second approach. Previous methodologies for screening small molecules, while effective, have partly overlooked the important role of the immune system in the identification of compounds against Leishmania infection. The project aims to capture the potential host contribution in an assay that could help identify novel leads for the treatment of Leishmania.