Dr. Arturo Sánchez-Paz is a Principal Researcher at the Laboratory of Virology at Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR, Northwest Biological Research Center) in Hermosillo, Sonora, México. He obtained his Marine Biology Bachelor of Science degree at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (1998), his Master of Science postgraduate degree at CIBNOR (2001), and his PhD at the Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo (2006). For the past few years, his lab has been interested in marine viruses and has developed protocols for their detection and quantification. In addition, Dr. Sánchez-Paz is particularly interested in understanding the interaction at the molecular level of some well-known marine viruses (such as WSSV, PstDNV-a, and OsHV-1) with their hosts towards understanding disease pathogenesis and epidemiology. He has collaborated with researchers of several institutions with national and international partners on strategies to avoid the replication of these pathogens. His research has generated more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts published in international scientific journals, and he has guided and mentored several postgraduate students (MSc and PhD from some national programs). He is a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI level 2) of the National Council of Humanities, Science and Technology (CONAHCyT), a full member of the American Society for Virology, a full member of the World Society for Virology, a full member of the Mexican Society of Virology, and active member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.
Plans for the World Society of Virology for 2024-2026.
Through my position as vice-president of the World Society of Virology, I will contribute to increasing the membership of the WSV from students, technicians, and researchers from universities and research centers from Latin America by developing an innovative and attractive platform in Spanish and Portuguese. In addition, as I have found a lack of knowledge and misconceptions about viruses among citizens, I will work on developing programs to facilitate a broader and better understanding of the ecological role of viruses to undergraduate students and the general public, not only those representing a threat to humans. Finally, I will focus on designing programs to promote interinstitutional collaborations among Latin American researchers.