Philippe SOLANO

Information

Scientific interests and projects

The Intertryp IRD-Cirad Research Unit is the WHO Collaborating Centre for research on interactions in the epidemiology of human African trypanosomiasis, and is the OIE Reference Laboratory for animal trypanosomoses.

The health and social burden of neglected tropical diseases caused by Trypanosomatids (NTD-TRYPs: HAT and AAT, Chagas disease, Leishmanioses) makes it necessary to control and eliminate them in compliance with the WHO 2020 and 2030 roadmaps for the elimination of NTDs. Our research fits in directly with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, and in particular SDGs 2 and 3.

Our Mission: With our Southern and European partners, we have adopted an integrated “One Health” approach to all aspects of the Trypanosomatid cycle—hosts, parasites, vectors, microbiota and the environment, in order to:
• diagnose, analyse, develop and provide partners in the South and neglected populations with ways of controlling and eliminating these diseases
• improve public and animal health, and increase food security in a context of global change

This is accompanied by a strong capacity-building component for our partners.

Our scientific strategy, in particular regarding our involvement in Parafrap is to,
• Clarify the bases of host-parasite interactions and understand the phenomena of asymptomatic carrying/tolerance/resistance
• Develop new prophylactic and therapeutic molecules and new strategies for interrupting the transmission of parasites and infection, in order to
• Effectively contribute with our national partners in Disease Endemic Countries to the NTD-TRYP elimination process.

Top 5 publications of the last 5 years

1. Büscher P., Bart J.M., Boelaert M., Bucheton B., Cecchi G., Chitnis N., Courtin D., Figueiredo L.M., Franco J.R., Grébaut P., Hasker E., Ilboudo H., Jamonneau V., Koffi M., Lejon V., MacLeod A., Masumu J., Matovu E., Mattioli R., Noyes H., Picado A., Rock K.S., Rotureau B., Simo G., Thévenon S., Trindade S., Truc P., Van Reet N. (2018). Do cryptic reservoirs threaten gambiense sleeping sickness elimination? Trends in Parasitol., 34(3):197-207. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2017.11.008.

2. Cooper A., Ilboudo H., Alibu V.P., Ravel S., Enyaru J., Weir W., Noyes H., Capewell P., Camara M., Milet J., Jamonneau V., Camara O., Matovu E., Bucheton B., MacLeod A. (2017). APOL1 renal risk variants have contrasting resistance and susceptibility associations with African trypanosomiasis. Elife, 6. pii: e25461. doi: 10.7554/eLife.25461

3. Büscher P., Cecchi G., Jamonneau V., Priotto G. (2017). Human African Trypanosomiasis. Lancet. pii: S0140-6736(17)31510-6. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31510-6.

4. Olivia J. S. Macleod, Jean-Mathieu Bart, Paula MacGregor, Lori Peacock, Nicholas J. Savill, Svenja Hester, Sophie Ravel, Jack D. Sunter, Camilla Trevor, Steven Rust, Tristan J. Vaughan, Ralph Minter, Shabaz Mohammed, Wendy Gibson, Martin C. Taylor, Matthew K.Higgins, and Mark Carrington. A receptor for the complement regulator factor H2 increases transmission of trypanosomes to tsetse flies. Nature comm., in press.

5. Jamonneau V., Truc P., Grébaut P., Herder S., Ravel S., Solano P., De Meeus T. (2019). Trypanosoma brucei gambiense group 2: the unusual suspect. Trends Parasitol., 35 (12): 983-995. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.09.002.