This proposal requests funds to permit Dr. John I. Bruce, Center for Tropical Diseases, University of Lowell, to conduct with Dr. Bintare Rukmono, Department of Parasitology, University of Indonesia, a U.S.-Indonesia seminar on the application of biotechnology in the study of animal parasites and their vectors. The joint seminar, involving eight U.S. participants, will be held for ten days, June 26 to July 5, 1989, in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Denpasar, Indonesia. The purpose of this seminar is to bring together for mutual benefit U.S. and Indonesian parasitologists to exchange ideas on the study of animal parasites and their vectors and to apply new and developing technologies to obtain a better understanding of the parasites, their vectors, their biology, and life cycles. In addition to reviewing and updating animal parasitosis in Indonesia and other countries in the immediate geographical region, projections will be made on the application of new tools in biotechnology to the study of these parasites. The containment of animal parasites is important to development in many tropical countries. The seminar will provide to U.S. scientists information on Indonesian research on zoonotic parasites that are not well known to Americans. There will be reviews on biotechnology and the use of biotechnology in the study of nematodes, cestodes, trematodes, protozoa, arthropods, and mollusks. For example, there will be a review of nematodes followed by papers on the development of monoclonal antibodies to detect nematode antigens, the biochemistry of nematodes, the use of isoenzymes and probes to detect nematode antigens, genetic differences, etc. It is intended that the seminar will be instrumental in fostering future collaborative research and training efforts that will be beneficial to U.S. and Indonesian parasitologists. This project is relevant to the objectives of the Science in Developing Countries Program which seeks to increase the level of cooperation between U.S. scientists and engineers and their counterparts in developing countries through the exchange of scientific information, ideas, skills, and techniques and through collaboration on problems of mutual benefit.
