The growing penetration of genomics in contemporary culture leads us to pay attention to a certain moral dimension associated with this science and to a set of values expressed by geneticists which, in some way, help us to understand its public repercussions today. The present work uses oral history to listening to and analyze how geneticists working in the Genetics Department at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, express and share values associated with science that end up giving the group a certain collective identity. Although each interview denotes oral stories that refer to individual experiences, mental states and ideological visions, the aim is to approach them in a transversal way. We aim to capture a network of values, affections, traditions and conventions shared among the researchers about: what science is or being a scientist (geneticist), what it is (and how) to do research in human genetics, what are the inspirations and legacies of the Department's researchers for the development of research, what is the role of human genetics for society – by stating its universality; proposing genetic technology as a right; or charging any opposition to genetic research in human population as “geneticphobia”.

The presentation discusses the emergence of the field of molecular parasitology through the career of the Brazilian scientist Carlos Morel (1943-). In 1980, he was head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (DBBM, in Portuguese acronym) at Fiocruz. The DBBM played an important role in the renewal of research on neglected tropical diseases. Fiocruz was founded in 1900 and has been the central public health institution in Brazil, but it was in crisis during the military dictatorship (1964-1985). The process of renovating Fiocruz and legitimizing the DBBM was a complex one. In 1977, the Federation of European Biochemical Societies published an article by Carlos Morel supporting a new form to characterize Trypanosoma Cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas' disease. Morel applied to a protozoan the molecular biology techniques previously used only for viruses and bacteria. This new approach would have a massive impact on public health, but it was not immediately accepted by the genetics community. It was not until three years later, in 1980, when Morel published a new article with UCLA scientist Larry Simpson in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, that the first article was considered the starting point for DBBM and the field of molecular parasitology. Communication explores Morel's dilemmas and strategies between 1977 and 1980 and some aspects of the circulation of scientists, theories and techniques between North and South Global.