Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 121 (Suppl. 1) 2026
Research Articles

On the 125th anniversary of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, the postgraduate program in tropical medicine celebrates 45 years of achievements in an evolving landscape

Livia Agualuza Mangeon, Martha Cecilia Suarez-Mutis, Alda Maria Da-Cruz, Elba Regina Sampaio de Lemos, Livia Melo Villar, Marco Aurelio Pereira Horta, Márcio Neves Bóia, Vanessa Salete De Paula, Filipe Anibal Carvalho-Costa+

1Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Epidemiologia e Sistemática Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
2Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
3Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
4Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Hantaviroses e Rickettsioses, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
5Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Hepatites Virais, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
6Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestres Reservatórios, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
7Fundação Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Virologia e Parasitologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil

DOI: 10.1590/0074-02760250313
158 views 144 downloads
ABSTRACT

This paper describes the trajectory of the Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine (PPGMT) at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC) over 45 years. We demonstrate the evolution and diversity of subjects, spanning 428 master's dissertations and 233 doctoral theses, from rural endemic parasitic diseases to 21st-century public health emergencies. Research fields such as molecular biology, immunology, host-pathogen interactions, entomology, molecular epidemiology, phylogeography/phylogenetics of pathogens and vectors, ecology, ecoepidemiology, immunogenetics, and health education were incorporated by the PPGMT, expanding it into many IOC laboratories. The production of scientific data on highly prevalent/incident pathogens is discussed. The paper highlights the presence of Neglected Tropical Diseases as well as major global health risks among dissertations and theses subjects. PPGMT instructors' and students' presumptions about ideas like One Health and the 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals are highlighted. Projects on low-incidence/high-lethality diseases are demonstrated, and the geographic distribution of research developed by foreign students is presented. Future challenges are glimpsed in an evolving epidemiological landscape, where infectious diseases reemerge as potential risks to public health amid reduced global vaccination coverage, misinformation, science denialism, climatic changes, and the weakening of international organizations.

+ Corresponding author: guaratiba@ioc.fiocruz.br | ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8083-2840
Received 29 October 2025

Our Location

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz

Av. Brasil 4365, Castelo Mourisco 
sala 201, Manguinhos, 21040-900 
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

Tel.: +55-21-2562-1222

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Support Program

logo iocb

logo governo federal03h 
faperj   cnpq capes