 This review summarizes ongoing experimental research efforts to develop vaccines against leishmaniasis, a collection of vector-borne parasitic diseases caused by different leishmania species worldwide. The review highlights the importance of immunization in preventing leishmaniasis and introduces previous and ongoing vaccine strategies that have been proposed for cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. However, one major challenge is transitioning from results in animal model studies to humans, particularly in assessing vaccine candidates in American tegmentary leishmaniasis settings. This article was authored by Beatrice Coutinho de Oliveira, Malcolm S. Duthy and Valeria Riga-Elvis Pereira.