Manoel Barral

DAVIS — A renowned immunologist and educator who directs the Brazilian equivalent of the National Science Foundation in the United States will launch a long-range "Science without Borders" project with the University of California, Davis, on Monday (June 20), when he will meet with administrative officials, tour the Genome Center and deliver a noon presentation at Mrak Hall to the campus community.

Professor Manoel Barral, director of Institutional Collaboration at CNPq, the Brazilian equivalent of the National Science Foundation/National Institutes of Health, will be on campus at a series of all-day meetings. CNPq is an organization of the Brazilian federal government under the Ministry of Science and Technology, and is dedicated to scientific and technological research.

"The main goal is to promote the consolidation and expansion of science, technology and innovation in Brazil through international exchange and mobility," said host Walter Leal, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.

Leal, a chemical ecologist and native of Brazil, said the project is a two-way mobility program involving undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students. Research will encompass engineering, earth sciences, health and biomedical sciences, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, sustainable agriculture production, green chemistry, energy, biotechnology, climate change, minerals, biodiversity, marine sciences, and housing and sanitation, among others.

Barral is stopping at Davis before heading to Washington, D.C., to speak at the EducationUSA Forum.
While here, Barral will discuss the "Science Without Borders" project with Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph Hexter; meet with Satya Dandekar, professor and chair of Microbiology and Immunology and tour the Genome Center; meet with Associate Vice Provost Adrienne Martin, University Outreach and International Programs; and meet with Jeffrey Gibeling, dean of Graduate Studies, regarding the collaboration and agreement.

Barral will speak on "An Overview of the Brazilian Science and Technology System" at a open seminar for the campus community from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in 203 Mrak Hall. Leal will introduce Barral. A question-and-answer session will follow. The event is co-sponsored by the University Outreach and International Programs and the Department of Entomology.

Following lunch, Barral will join faculty, students and scholars with Brazilian linkages for an hour-long meeting in 1022 Life Sciences Addition (LSA) . The campus has about 70 students and scholars with Brazilian linkages.

Barral is a 1976 graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). Specializing in human immunology, he obtained advanced training in immunoparasitology at the Parasitic Diseases of the National Institutes of Health and produced scientific papers in immunology of human schistosomiasis. He is an expert on leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease transmitted by the bites of infected sandflies and has collaborated with researchers at Cornell University and the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute. Barral and his group have published widely on the disease in peer-reviewed journals. To date, he has published 167 papers in international journals.

A UFBA faculty member since 1984, Barral is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and of the National Order of Scientific Merit. He is a past president of the Brazilian Society for Immunology.
Further information on Barral's visit is available from Parvin Damania, padamania@ucdavis.edu or (530-754-9707) of University Outreach and International Programs.

The EducationUSA Forum, set June 22-24 in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in the heart of Washington, D.C., is designed for U.S. colleges and universities seeking to enhance their international student recruitment. Topics will include services provided by EducationUSA to assist with international recruitment; current trends in student mobility in all world regions; and information about foreign government scholarships and U.S. government funding.