This proposal is to request support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled Molecular Targets for Control of Vector-Borne Diseases: Bridging Lab and Field Research, organized by Kenneth D. Vernick, Elena A. Levashina, Gerry Killeen and Anthony A. James, which will be held in Copper Mountain, Colorado from April 11 - 16, 2010. Vigorous research since the completion of the Anopheles gambiae genome sequence has established the malaria mosquito as a model organism for host-pathogen biology. However, the translation of this growing post-genomic knowledge base into new vector-targeted malaria control strategies is a distinct challenge that now leads laboratory-based molecular researchers to confront the complexity and heterogeneity of the natural malaria transmission system. Simultaneously, a body of field-based vector researchers has been developing new ways to utilize existing vector control tools such as bednets and insecticides that, if consistently implemented, can yield impressive outcomes. Lab- and field-based practitioners attend different meetings and rarely engage in direct dialog. This conference will examine the tension between the development of new practical malaria control tools, including genomic ones, and the advantages of more fully exploiting existing tools. It is hoped that the scientific discussion will help influence individual and programmatic research priorities. Opportunities for interdisciplinary interactions will be significantly enhanced by the co-location of this meeting with the Keystone Symposia meeting on Malaria: New Approaches to Understanding Host-Parasite Interactions. Major human infectious diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness, and dengue fever are transmitted from person to person by insect vectors. The vectors are required for transmission, and thus the vector is a potential target for the control of disease transmission. The Keystone Symposia meeting on Molecular Targets for Control of Vector-Borne Diseases: Bridging Lab and Field Research will assemble lab and field investigators in order to facilitate a dialogue aimed at promoting the most efficient direction of research and resources towards vector and disease control.
Major human infectious diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness, and dengue fever are transmitted from person to person by insect vectors. The vectors are required for transmission, and thus the vector is a potential target for the control of disease transmission. The Keystone Symposia meeting on Molecular Targets for Control of Vector-Borne Diseases: Bridging Lab and Field Research will assemble lab and field investigators in order to facilitate a dialogue aimed at promoting the most efficient direction of research and resources towards vector and disease control.
