MOLLUSKS AND RESEARCH / MOLLUSKS AND RESEARCH – most current

PANEL 5 – MOLLUSKS AND RESEARCH

The Development of Parasitology

Parasitology emerged as a scientific field in the second half of the 19th century, when some Brazilian and European doctors began to link parasites to specific diseases.
In Brazil, during the First Republic (1889–1930), research institutes such as the Bacteriological Institute (São Paulo) and the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (Rio de Janeiro) played key roles in advancing studies in parasitology.

The Institutionalization of Parasitology at Butantan

Founded in 1901, the Butantan Institute established itself as an institution dedicated to tackling public health challenges.
Parasitology at Butantan became an official field of knowledge with the creation of the Section of Protozoology and Parasitology in 1930. Activities included maintaining zoological collections, investigating parasitic fauna in humans and animals, and researching parasitic diseases such as Chagas disease, malaria, and schistosomiasis.

Several renowned parasitologists worked at the institute: Manoel Pirajá da Silva, who described the cycle and agent of schistosomiasis; Samuel Barnsley Pessoa, a prominent parasitologist from the University of São Paulo; Erney Plessmann de Camargo, an internationally recognized researcher of trypanosomatids, who also served as director of the Butantan Institute and the Butantan Foundation.

Poster from the Malaria Eradication Service (a serious infectious disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite and transmitted by infected Anopheles mosquitoes) and Chagas Disease Prevention Campaign (a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, mainly transmitted by the kissing bug) – São Paulo.
The main parasitic diseases studied in the late 19th and early 20th centuries included hookworm disease, elephantiasis, Chagas disease (identified in 1909), and malaria.
Collection: Butantan Institute / Memory Center

Record from the Photography Section of the Butantan Institute, requested by the Parasitology Section. Titled “Snails (land gastropods) in their natural habitat”. Date: 06/05/1940. Photographer: Januário Talarico.

Collection: Butantan Institute / Memory Center

Parasitology course at the Butantan Institute. Wearing a lab coat and holding a hat is Flávio da Fonseca. Date: 1945. Other researchers in the Parasitology Section between 1930–1950 included Alcides Prado and Aristoteris Leão, who focused on the study of mites, insects, helminths, mollusks, and protozoa.

Collection: Butantan Institute / Memory Center

Studies on Schistosomiasis

In Brazil, research on schistosomiasis intensified during the mid-20th century, leading to its classification as an endemic disease (common diseases restricted to specific geographic areas).
At that time, following debates among doctors, scientists, health officials, and political actors, a consensus formed that schistosomiasis was a major public health issue.
This led to the creation of the first federal public policies for the prevention and treatment of the disease, rooted in the belief that controlling endemic diseases was essential to economic development.

Butantan Institute

Within the Parasitology Section at Butantan, mollusk-related activities focused primarily on diagnosing schistosomiasis.
These investigations combined scientific research and fieldwork, including expeditions to collect specimens.
The expeditions took place within the state of São Paulo, in areas known for contamination. The collected data contributed both to scientific understanding and the formulation of public policy—such as providing statistical data to government agencies on water and sewage contamination rates.

Mollusk studies were strengthened at the Butantan Institute with the hiring of pharmacist José Manoel Ruiz in 1950, as a Biologist in the Parasitology Section. In this undated photo of a Helminth Control Campaign team, Ruiz appears in the back, to the left of the vehicle.
Collection: Butantan Institute / Memory Center

Ruiz’s career at the Butantan Institute began in 1941 as an intern.
After being hired as a biologist, he briefly served as director of the Parasitology Section.
In the photo, Ruiz is working in the laboratory (undated).
Collection: Butantan Institute / Memory Center

Expedition for the collection of snail specimens (undated).
Collection: Butantan Institute / Memory Center

Poster illustrating the evolutionary cycle of schistosomiasis, produced by the Interior Service Division of the Public Health and Social Assistance Department of the State of São Paulo (undated).
Collection: Butantan Institute / Memory Center

PANEL 6 – MOLLUSKS AND RESEARCH – most current

Female Presence in Brazilian Malacology

Women have played a key role in mollusk research and in the leadership of the Brazilian Malacological Society (SBMa). From 1979 to 2021, female scientists steadily increased their participation in SBMa events, reflecting a broader trend in the national scientific landscape. Their studies have explored topics such as biodiversity, taxonomy, and mollusks of medical importance.
During this period, over half (51.8%) of the SBMa presidents were women—an impressively high figure compared to other scientific societies (which average around 18.7%).

At the Butantan Institute, women have contributed to parasitology research since 1969. Two pioneers, Therezinha de Jesus Heitzmann-Fontenelle and Mina Fichman, conducted studies on substances and bioecological methods for eliminating schistosomiasis host snails.
In the 1990s, Toshie Kawano developed research in mollusk embryology, mentoring students who still work at the institute today.

For the past 25 years, the Parasitology Laboratory has been under female leadership, with Toshie Kawano, Darci Battesti, and currently Eliana Nakano at the helm. These scientists have made and continue to make significant contributions to innovation in the field, serving as inspirations for new generations of women in science.

20th Brazilian Malacology Meeting. In the center: Toshie Kawano. To her right: three SBMa board members – Sonia Barbosa dos Santos (President, 2007–2019), Monica Lemos Ammon Fernandez (Treasurer, 2007–2019), and Maria Cristina Dreher Mansur (Secretary-Treasurer, 1995–1997).
Date: August 2007.
Private collection of Lenita de Freitas Tallarico

Biologist Therezinha Heitzmann-Fontenelle, head of the Parasitology Section at the Butantan Institute in 1970. She studied the life cycle of Triatoma pseudomaculata (a kissing bug), and methods for eliminating mosquito larvae and snails.

Museum of Zoology, University of São Paulo (USP)

Toshie Kawano visiting Shinshu University in Japan, 2008. Graduated in Natural History from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (1961), she received a WHO fellowship for studies at Utrecht University in the Netherlands (1965). She joined the Butantan Institute in 1986, deepening her research in malacology. In 2008, she was awarded the Pirajá da Silva Medal by the Ministry of Health, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Schistosoma mansoni, in recognition of her contributions to schistosomiasis research.
Private collection of Lenita de Freitas Tallarico

Scientists of the Parasitology Laboratory at the Butantan Institute
From left to right: Cristina Antonia Alba de Albuquerque, Vanessa Siqueira Grazeffe, Ana Rita de Toledo Piza, Ludmila Nakamura Rapado, Eliana Nakano, Lenita de Freitas Tallarico, Maria de Lourdes Campos, Patrícia Aoki Miyasato, and Toshie Kawano. Date: 2008
Private collection of Lenita de Freitas Tallarico

Current Research Lines in the Parasitology Laboratory

The history of parasitology at the Butantan Institute has always reflected public health priorities and the broader institutional context. Today, the lab’s research lines continue a tradition built over 95 years of scientific development.

Entomology: The Parasite Vector Mosquitoes line includes dengue studies, led by Lincoln Suesdek.
Acarology: Focuses on tick research, led by Simone Michaela Simons
Nematode studies: Investigations using Caenorhabditis elegans, conducted by Fernando Luiz Kamitani.
Malacology: Ronaldo Zucatelli Mendonça has explored biotechnological products derived from land mollusks.
Researchers Eliana Nakano and Lenita de Freitas Tallarico established the field of Ecotoxicology, using freshwater snails for environmental assessments and chemical testing.
They also lead studies focused on schistosomiasis control, including research on molluscicides, cercaricides, and schistosomicides.

Eliana Nakano, Director of the Parasitology Laboratory
She led the integration of lab projects with the creation of the Biological Testing Platform, which uses biological models to screen for new substances with potential pharmaceutical use.
Photo: Butantan Communications, 2023

From left to right: Arlete Sandra de Jesus, Ronaldo Mendonça, Fernando Kamitani, Jair Novaes, Fernanda Lopes, Cristiane Garramoni, Felipe Santos, Gil Mauro da Costa, Patricia Miyasato, Rafaela de Freitas, Lenita Tallarico, Eliana Nakano, Karina Villar, Ana Fernandes, Rafael Marques, and Simone Simons.

Photo of the current Parasitology Laboratory Team.

Photo: Renato Rodrigues / Butantan Communications, 2025