A partnership between the research group of the Graduate Program in Cell and Molecular Biology of the Federal University of Paraná, led by Dr. Marcel I. Ramirez was established with the State College Professor Isabel Lopes Santos Souza, located at Rua Rosa Tortato, N°400, in Pinheirinho Neighborhood, Curitiba and member of the Unesco Associated Schools Program (PEA), since 2017, with the aim of promoting socio-educational activity, bringing together two important areas of knowledge: health and education.

Parasitoses are an important global public health problem and affect a significant portion of the population, being mainly related to the conditions of basic sanitation, education and housing.

The community served by Isabel Lopes College is low-income, needy and vulnerable in many aspects. Some students are unaware of parasitosis, as well as ways to seek specialized care, to prevent and combat different pathologies, including verminosis and protozoonosis.

In this context, the role of the school as a transforming agent is necessary to instigate scientific knowledge and show the path of rationality and the correct way to learn to seek knowledge and professional help, when necessary.

The Federal University of Paraná, through Dr. Ramirez's group inserted in the Graduate Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, proposed to develop educational activities to disseminate scientific knowledge and demonstrate, within the community the importance of research and how a scientist acts.

The main objective is to disseminate the teaching and research work developed by UFPR for the population, which is unaware of the applicability of the various research fronts within the university. It is necessary to show that education, health and scientific development go hand in hand, so that there is the progress of the community.

The management team, as well as the faculty, staff and students of Isabel Lopes College received with enthusiasm the proposal to promote science teaching in a differentiated and practical way.

On 23/11/2019, after a previous meeting, the students of the graduate program developed a practical activity, under the guidance of Professor Dr. Marcel Ramirez, who worked on the theme: "Parasitosis: knowing to prevent."

This pilot activity worked with a sixth-year class and was divided into three moments:

One, i'm sorry. Theoretician: part of the class went to the classroom and followed a brief class, explaining what the parasitsis are and how they affect the organism.

 

2. Hand washing : The children were blindfolded, had their hands painted and then washed their hands. This very interesting practice demonstrates how much young people can be relapsed during hand washing, which promotes the spread of parasites and is an opportunity to become aware of hygiene.

 

3. Microscopy and helminth presentation: By observing Giardia intestinalis trofozoitos undera microscope and real parts of helminths, students learned how parasite can have different sizes and the different pathologies they can cause in the host.

The activities were very well accepted by the whole school, which asks for other moments to be performed, being ready to provide a field for the development of scientific works.

With this partnership, public school students can improve their knowledge, the community knows the work developed by the University and makes a very vast field for knowledge production, in addition the university present in the daily life of vulnerable young people renews hopes, indicating that education is the best path to be followed and transforms, that may instigate the dream of being a scientist and being at university in some of these young people.

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Working group:

Dr. Marcel I Ramirez – UFPR-IOC

Dr.

Ingrid Evans Osses – Santa Cruz Integrated Colleges

Ms. Daniela Tapety – Central Laboratory Curitiba Prefecture

Bruno Gavinho, PhD student of the Graduate Program in Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology at UFPR

Izadora Volpato Rossi, PhD student of the Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology at UFPR

Bruna Sabatke, master's student of the Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology at UFPR

Maria Alice Ferreira, master's student of the Graduate Program in Cell and Molecular Biology at UFPR