On the 125th Anniversary of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, the Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine Celebrates 45 years of Achievements in an Evolving Landscape

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.