I am a researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in the Rene Rachou Research Center, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. I graduated from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in 2002 with my veterinary degree and then worked for the Department of Zoonosis Control at Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais for 4 years. During this time I was involved in the Brazilian national campaign to control leishmaniasis. From 2006 to 2010 I undertook a PhD at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation on the epidemiology of leishmaniasis in dogs. In 2010 I could take up a position as Researcher Senior in parasitic diseases at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and I have been here since then. My research has focused on the epidemiology of leishmaniasis of human and animals. e-mail address: gfspaz@gmail.com