Event featured an introduction to Project Orion, an award for a CNPEM researcher, and announcement of the new directors of the Brazilian Society for Virology, which include a representative of the Center.
Legend: CNPEM booth with team of staff from the Center. Project Orion was a highlight in conversations with visitors (Photo credit: CNPEM Outreach)
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) participated in the 35th Brazilian Congress of Virology (CBV) and 19th MERCOSUR Meeting of Virology in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná from October 2 to 5. Project Orion was a highlight in conversations with visitors to the CNPEM booth, and a focus of interest throughout the event. The participants, most of whom were virologists, represent a significant portion of the academic community expected to use the facilities at Orion. The project is a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research, and will include Latin America’s only maximum biological containment labs (BSL-4), the first in the world connected to a synchrotron light source, Sirius.
The Training and Qualification Program to work in high and maximum biological containment labs, which began even before the Orion building was completed, also drew major interest from congress participants.
Focused on training human resources in competencies that are not yet widely developed in Brazil and other Latin American countries, this front is intended to support training of Orion’s future users and refine the skills of teams that already work in research and development involving pathogens.
The program includes theoretical activities and practical sessions held in a simulated training laboratory, a faithful replica of real facilities inside a maximum containment biosafety facility (BSL-4) which is already available on the CNPEM campus. Within this simulated space, researchers in training carry out security protocols without actually handling infectious materials or risking infection, under the supervision of professionals dedicated to performing individual assessments on biosafety protocols.
Awards
CNPEM researcher Paulo Boratto received a prize for best oral presentation in the category “Virus/host interactions and immunology” for his study on how Acanthamoeba cells react to infection by Tupanvirus (TPV). The objective of this research was to better understand if and how these cells communicate during viral infection. Studies with amoebas can help clarify the evolutionary origins of defense strategies in eukaryotic cells.
The initial results indicate that the amoebas that come into contact with substances released by infected cells develop greater protection against TPV. This protection, according to the study, is thought to be related to an increase in cyst formation, a means of defense in amoebas.
Acanthamoeba is a type of amoeba that can cause infections in humans, although many species live freely in nature without causing disease. It is also widely used in research to understand biological interactions. Tupanvirus, in turn, is a type of giant virus discovered in Brazil that infects amoebas like Acanthamoeba, and is named for the god Tupã in indigenous Tupi-Guarani mythology. Although it is not known to cause disease in humans, its discovery is important for the study of viral evolution and virus/host interactions.
Legend: CNPEM researcher Paulo Boratto receives prize for best oral presentation at CBV in the category “Virus/host interactions and immunology” (Photo credit: SBV Outreach)
New directors
The congress closed with the general assembly of the Brazilian Society for Virology (SBV), where the results of the election for the organization’s new directors were announced; this group now includes a representative from CNPEM, Rafael Elias Marques, a researcher who leads the Virology division.
Legend: New directorship of the Brazilian Society for Virology announced during assembly at the close of the congress (Photo credit: SBV Outreach)
CBV
CBV continues its tradition of promoting discussion and exchange among Brazilian and international researchers. Over 600 visitors participated in this edition of the event, including undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and other professionals. The next edition is planned to take place in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.
SBV
The Brazilian Society for Virology is a non-profit organization that brings together professionals and students working in various areas of virology in Brazil. The objectives of SBV include publicizing studies, research, and information about virology, encouraging the training of human resources in this area, and promoting domestic and international exchanges and collaboration. In September 2023, the SBV published a declaration of support for Project Orion, stating that the “implementation of Orion is a fundamental strategic element for the scientific and technological development” of the country, and also emphasized its relevance “in promoting Brazilian virology as a scientific reference in studies related to emerging viruses in the area of public health, especially involving viruses in risk groups 3 and 4,” adding that “integration with Sirius will add an internationally unprecedented element for research on these viruses that require high-level containment facilities, more firmly establishing Brazil as an important contributor in the area of virology.”
Project Orion
Project Orion will be a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research, and will include Latin America’s first maximum biological containment level facilities (BSL-4), the only labs of this kind in the world connected to a synchrotron light source, Sirius. Currently under construction in the city of Campinas, São Paulo on the CNPEM campus, this project will combine analytic techniques and advanced competencies in bioimaging which will be open to the scientific community and public agencies. By permitting advances in knowledge on pathogens and related diseases, Orion will support health surveillance activities and policies, as well as the development of diagnostic methods, vaccines, treatments, and epidemiological strategies. Orion will support national sovereignty in facing health crises, and has the potential to benefit various areas such as health, science and technology, defense, and the environment.
The implementation of Project Orion is overseen by the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a social organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). The project is part of the federal government’s New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and funded with resources from the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FNDCT) and MCTI, with support from the Ministry of Health (MS). This initiative is part of the federal government’s New Industry Brazil (NIB) stimulus policy and will serve as an instrument of national sovereignty, competence, and security in the fields of science and technology for research, defense, and human, animal, and environmental health. Orion was also planned to strengthen the Health Economic-Industrial Complex (CEIS), an initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Health and intended to meet priority demands from the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS).
About CNPEM
CNPEM is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment with activities within different fronts of the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the MCTI, CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently developing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation.
