The research group of the Department of Parasitology of the University of Granada has a long history in the investigation of parasitic protozoa, especially the group of trypanosomatids that cause Chagas disease and leishmaniasis, intestinal parasitosis, acanthamebiosis and cryptosporidiosis. This group has experience in laboratory techniques that allow it to address antiparasitic evaluation in in vitro and in vivo assays to determine the effectiveness of new synthetic macro compounds against T.cruzi, Leishmania species and Acanthamoeba. The search for the target site and the study of the mechanism of action are recurrent tasks in his research career. Throughout the years of research, collaborations have been established with different groups in the area of Chemistry: Dr. Antonio Rodriguez Diéguez (Dept. of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Granada), Dr. Enrique Álvarez de Manzaneda (Dept. of Organic Chemistry, University of Granada), Dr. J. G. Díaz (University Institute of Chemistry of Granada), Dr. J. G. Díaz (University Institute of Chemistry, University of Granada) and Dr. J. G. Díaz (University Institute of Chemistry of Granada). G. Díaz (Instituto Universitario de Bio-orgánica "Antonio Gonzalez", ULL), Dr. González-Coloma (Centro de Ciencias Ambientales, CSIC-Madrid), Dr. A. Costa (Universidad de Islas Baleares), Dr. Xabi Hernandez (Universidad de Gerona) and especially with Dr. García-España (Universidad de Valencia). The fruits of these collaborations are numerous publications and some patents. On the other hand, our participation in 4 European projects allowed us to collaborate with leading European groups in the field such as Dr. Opperdoes (ICP Brussels), Dr. Barret (Univ. of Wales), Dr. Brum and Dr. Kamikisky (Tropical Institute of Basel), Dr. Kranth-Siegel (Univ. of Heidelberg), Dr. Coombs (Univ. of Glasgow) and Dr.Croft (London School), most of which are still in place. We have also established collaborations with Latin American groups: Dr. Diego E. Cargnelutti (Univ. de Cuyo), Dr. Manuel E. Bolio-González (Univ. de Yucatán), Dr. Ofelia Córdova Paz (Univ. de Trujillo) and Dr. Inés Zulantay (Univ. de Chile). These studies also originated/created several contracts with national as well as foreign pharmaceutical companies, aimed at the discovery of new potential parasiticidal activity: Laboratorios Uniasa, Dr. Esteve, Antibióticos S.A and Laboratorios Glaxo. All this experience is backed by more than 419 publications in specialised international journals, more than 200 contributions to congresses and some 47 doctoral theses.

The group's main lines of research are as follows:

- Chemotherapy of parasitic protozoa

- Diagnosis of neglected diseases

- Biochemistry and molecular biology of parasites

- Parasitological diagnosis: 

Website of the group