Population Biology of African Malaria Vectors and Parasites Malaria is the most fatal vector-borne disease in Africa. At present, the first-line intervention tools are insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spray that target indoor-biting mosquitoes. However, the spread of insecticide resistance and increasing outdoor biting behaviors of the malaria vectors has significantly hindered the effectiveness of these tools, resulting slow progress of malaria control in the past several years across Africa. In addition, the African continent has been experiencing very rapid environmental changes such as urbanization, deforestation, dam construction, irrigation and the resulting agricultural practice shift in the past two decades. On top of the vector behavioral change and insecticide resistance development, rapid environmental changes in the African continent have added additional challenges in malaria control. Addressing these challenges in malaria control requires knowledge on the impact of environmental modification on vector biology and epidemiology, and requires optimization of the vector control methods that are adaptive to the rapidly changing vector ecology and malaria epidemiology. Recent advancements in molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics and ecological modeling, provide exciting opportunities for developing new malaria vector control tools and application strategies. Unfortunately, a large number of scientists from malaria-endemic countries have not been able to leverage these new technologies extensively in their research. The specific scientific objectives of this competing renewal application focus on mechanistic studies on the impact of environmental modifications on malaria vector biology, epidemiology, and development and evaluation of new malaria vector control tools and application strategies. The overarching goal of this program is to advance the career development of promising young scientists from sub-Saharan African countries and assist them address the new challenges in malaria vector control in their regions. We propose to accomplish this goal by training four postdoctoral fellows and eight Ph.D. students from malaria-endemic Africa, and through workshops and ?training the trainers? sessions to broaden the impact of this program. In addition to obtaining research experience in molecular biology, bioinformatics, vector ecology and epidemiology, the program will offer a core training curriculum that focuses on biostatistics, bioinformatics, modeling, scientific writing and responsible conduct of research. The superb infrastructure and capacity at the international training sites in Kenya and Ethiopia and at the University of California at Irvine are ideal for the proposed training. This training program will contribute significantly to malaria research capacity building in Africa and career development of African scientists by bridging laboratory and field research experience in vector biology and malaria epidemiology, by equipping them with new technologies, by providing opportunities for them to develop valuable Africa-wide and international linkages, and empowering them to build and develop independent research capacity and projects.
Malaria is a major public health problem, particularly in sub- Saharan Africa. Advancements in molecular biology, bioinformatics, modeling and other disciplines provide exciting opportunities to develop new vector control tools. The vast majority of scientists from malaria-endemic Africa have not been able to use these new technologies to their maximum potential. Training next generation scientists to enable them to effectively use the new technologies and enhancing the malaria research capacity from malaria-endemic Africa will greatly facilitate the malaria control efforts in Africa.
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