Dr Rafael Toledo is a parasitologist with a research interest on host-parasite interactions, with emphasis on the immunological aspects of intestinal trematode infections.  He is currently Full Professor of Parasitology at the University of Valencia. He began working on trematode biology and systematics, with emphasis on echinostomes. During his post-doctoral stage at the University of Puerto Rico, he focused on immunological aspects of host-parasite interactions. Currently, his research is dedicated to the immunological interactions is the experimental model Echinostoma-rodent and other intestinal helminth infections. He has written and/or edited more than 150 works including original research articles in peer-reviewed journals, reviews, book chapters, and books.

Dr Bernard Fried† was Kreider Professor Emeritus at Lafayette College, USA. He was the author or coauthor of more than 500 scientific publications, including articles, reviews, books, and book chapters. He received a Ph.D in Zoology (Parasitology) from the University of Connecticut in 1961 and was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in Parasitology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA from 1961 to 1963. He was Professor of Biology at Lafayette College from 1963 to 2000 and his research was focused in the biology of helminths and gastropods and applications of TLC to the biological sciences.