Title: Southeast Regional Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease: The Gateway Program SUMMARY This Center of Excellence initiative is led by renowned, highly collaborative investigators from four major partnering universities in Florida with strong vector biology programs (University of Florida, University of Miami, University of South Florida and Florida International University). This integrated academic network carries the full support of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Florida Department of Health, and the Florida Mosquito Control Association, representing a vast system of 59 Mosquito Control Districts. Collaborating institutes include Florida A&M University, Georgia Southern University, the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural & Veterinary Entomology, the Naval Entomology Center of Excellence, and The Scripps Research Institute-Florida. Our proposal leverages the expertise across a broad remit of vector biology and epidemiological disciplines to achieve the following overarching objectives: (1) Conduct an innovative, applied research program to develop novel control interventions and optimize surveillance paradigms that would allow mosquito control associations throughout Florida and the US to better anticipate and respond to vector-borne disease (VBD) outbreaks; (2) Establish an integrated research and training network between academic institutions throughout Florida and the Southeast and the local, state, and federal public health agencies, to facilitate existing and future efforts in VBD surveillance and control; (3) Expand an effective University of Florida-led training program in basic public health entomology and advanced vector biology to augment the cohort of personnel who are trained with the requisite knowledge and skills to quickly detect and respond to VBDs; and (4) Provide an evidence-based set of recommendations and a tailored template of a ?surveillance-response program? to ensure that local mosquito control associations can better predict and address VBD threats in the US. The proposal is extremely timely as Florida is currently ?ground zero? for transmission of Zika and Dengue and offers an opportunity to examine the biocomplexity of such diseases in real-time. As such, the partnering research powerhouses in the State stand ready to tackle the problem through an integrated, data-driven, applied research and training program; designed to produce maximal output in novel control interventions and training paradigms within a 5-year period. Importantly, there is strong vision for this Center of Excellence in VBD. Through a multi-tier training program, we not only tackle the shortage of individuals trained in public health entomology today, but effectively lay down the framework for developing the leaders in this field over years to come. The ultimate goal is to establish a bona fide, comprehensive, applied and basic research program that fully addresses the epidemiological triad that will underpin our understanding of vector borne disease transmission. This is embodied in the proposed Gateway Program; the ?Gatekeeper template? for effective control and prevention of VBD establishment and spread throughout the United States.
This is a unified, flagship proposal from the State of Florida, to establish a Regional Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Disease (VBD), with the following objectives: (1) develop novel control interventions and discover insecticide-resistance-breaking compounds; (2) expand the level of inter-institute/inter-agency coordination and partnership in the exchange of research and operational information in the Southeast; (3) establish a comprehensive, four-tiered training program for public health entomologists and students throughout the Southeast, and (4) provide an evidence-based set of recommendations for a locally-tailored surveillance- response program in the form of a decision-making tool. Achieving these goals would effectively lay down the integrated framework and template for a long-standing regional center geared towards the effective control and prevention of vector borne disease threats in the US.
