The training program in Malaria and Mosquito-borne Diseases research is proposed for a total of three predoctoral students selected from a large pool of highly qualified applicants and three postdoctoral positions both for a two-year fellowship. The Malaria and Mosquito-borne Diseases training program is uniquely situated within the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and Epidemiology departments of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as well as Pharmacology in the School of Medicine. The 26 training faculty, representing three departments-microbiology, epidemiology and pharmacology, have a wide range of collaborative experience and expertise in cellular and molecular biology, immunology, epidemiology and therapeutic interventions of malaria and mosquito arboviral diseases as well as with the mosquito vectors associated with malaria and viral transmission. The goal of the training program is to provide trainees with both a firm foundation in the basic disciplines necessary for the study of mosquito-borne diseases arising from a knowledge base in microbiology, vector biology and immunology as well as a critical perspective that will enable them to apply their knowledge creatively to public health problems. Each predoctoral student will have already completed 1) a series of required courses in the basic disciplines of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, epidemiology, bacteriology, parasitology, virology, vector biology and immunology, as well as courses in research ethics and public health perspectives. Students who will have finished required courses, three 10-week laboratory rotations and have selected a thesis laboratory in a mosquito-borne diseases laboratory will be candidates for this doctoral training program with selection in the spring of the second year. Postdoctoral fellows are eligible at any time in their training. Based on a competitive assessment of academic excellence and a demonstrated commitment to work in a mosquito-borne diseases laboratory, students and postdoctoral fellows will be selected by the training faculty committee. A maximum of three doctoral students and three postdoctoral students will be supported for the two-year fellowships. Predoctoral student entry into this training program will commence at the start of the third year after passing the University oral exam and required coursework for doctoral students, while the postdoctoral fellowship may begin after arrival. Predoctoral student academic and research progress will be monitored by the departmental Graduate Program Committee and by the Thesis Advisory Committee, with special attention to student?s Individual Development Plan. Postdoctoral fellows will also have a Fellowship Advisory Committee and Individual Development Plan.
This Malaria and Mosquito-borne Diseases training program for 3 doctoral students and 3 postdoctoral fellows is highly relevant to national interests in the area of infectious diseases. The program will train students broadly in the molecular aspects of malaria and mosquito arboviral biology and pathogenesis, as well as in the ecology and epidemiology of mosquito-borne pathogens and the role of mosquito vectors in transmission. The public health relevance derives from not only the disease specific knowledge, but also general knowledge of the mosquito, a vector to other diseases like Dengue and Zika as well as malaria.
