Profesor Bibiana Chávez Munguía PhD
Current position: Profesor
Present adscription: Department of Infectomics and Molecular Pathogenesis.Cinvestav-IPN, Mexico.
Address: Av. IPN, No. 2508, San Pedro Zacatenco. CP. 07360
Phone number: + 52 (55) 57-47-3800 ext 5656. Fax: (525) 747 7107
E-mail:bchavez@cinvestav.mx
Academic profile:
Undergraduate studies: Biologist: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. México City, México. 1969.
Mr. Sc.: Cell Biology.Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. México City, México. 1975.
Ph. D. Experimental Pathology. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN. Mexico City, México. 1995.
Parasites that affect to humans as Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica present two morphologically different phases in their life cycle. One of them is the trophozoite that feeds and multiply into the host, the other is the cyst capable to resist external environmental conditions. By this capacity, the cyst, is the form of the parasite that reproduce the infection in new hosts. In addition, free living amebas as Acanthamoeba castellanii and Naegleria fowleri are capable of produce severe infections in humans also present these two phases.
Adverse environmental conditions induce the encystment, in this process a thick external cyst wall is produced and the microorganisms adopt structural characteristics required to remain alive. On the contrary, excystation occurs when environmental conditions are propitious for the trophozoite reestablishment.
Using electron microscopy methods we study the trophozoite-cyst and cyst-trophozoite differentiation processes. Besides, using in vitro models, we study different aspects of the cell biology and the cytopathic effect produced by these microorganisms.