Human and Animal Filariases – Landscape, Challenges, and Control: Drug Discovery in Infectious Diseases

Ronald Kaminsky is a widely-recognized expert in the discovery and development of antiparasitic drugs with an extensive history of research on trypanosomiasis in Africa and Switzerland. He served as Head of Parasitology Research at Novartis Animal Health from 2006-2014 and is currently a consultant for antiparasitic drug discovery in the animal health sector. Dr. Kaminsky has authored more than 100 publications and received numerous awards during his career in academia and industry. Timothy Geary is the former Director of the Institute of Parasitology at McGill University. Prior to joining the faculty at McGill in 2005, he spent 20 years in parasitology research in the animal health industry (Upjohn/Pharmacia/Pfizer). The author of more than 225 publications in the pharmacology of antiparasitic drugs and drug discovery and development, Prof. Geary serves as a consultant to many animal health companies and other organizations. Paul M. Selzer studied Biology, Parasitology, and Biochemistry at the University of Tübingen, Germany, where he also received his PhD in Biochemistry. During his career he has worked as a researcher and scientific manager for several pharmaceutical companies, and is currently holding a management position in antiparasitic drug discovery at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. He is also a visiting professor at the Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry of the University of Tübingen, DE and an honorary professor of the Department of Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation at the University of Glasgow, UK.

Introduction Filariae as Organisms Human Filarial Infections: Reflections on the Current Understanding of Their Importance, Pathobiology and Management Canine Filariasis (Heartworm) - Disease and Current Gaps Veterinary Diagnosis of Filarial Infection Antifilarial Chemotherapy: Current Options for Humans Antifilarial Chemotherapy: Current Options in Veterinary Medicine Heartworm Disease - Intervention and Industry Perspective Current Antifilarial Drugs - Mechanisms of Action Drug Resistance in Filariae Elimination and Eradication of Human Filariases Global Economics of Heartworm Disease Product Profiles for New Drugs Against Human and Animal Filariasis Discovery and Development of New Antifilarial Drugs (in vitro Assays) In vivo Models for the Discovery of New Antifilarial Drugs In vivo Assays - Discovery and Development of New Antifilarial Drugs in Companion Animals The Antifilarial Drug Pipeline The Host-Helminth Interface as a Rich Resource for Novel Drug Targets Functional Genomics of Filariae Development of a Vaccine Against Onchocerca volvulus Vector Control Approaches to Interrupt Transmission of Human Filarial Parasites Vector Control Approaches for Canine Filariasis Wolbachia Endosymbionts as Treatment Targets for Filarial Diseases