Program Council Response to the Mosquito Research Program Five-Year Review

Program Council was very impressed with the quality and detail of the review of the Mosquito Research Program. It is clear that the program is highly valued by the research community and the vector control clientele. The research provides an excellent mix of short term direct application and long term fundamental research that has had significant impact on the control of mosquitoes in California. It was pointed out to the Council that the research has become the basis for Best Management Practices for vector control that is required by regulation in many parts of the state. In addition, the grants provided by the MRP have been used successfully as seed money by the research community to generate much larger grants from federal agencies, including NSF and NIH. This ability to generate substantial levels of extramural support significantly extends the impact of ANR resources.

Program Council accepts many of the recommendations of the review panel. We applaud the efforts of the Director to leverage ANR funding by bringing extramural grants directly into the program. The new Malaria initiative is another creative approach to extend the impact of the University of California and the California vector control community into an international venue. The benefits are clearly articulated in the Review Report. However, there appears to be some misunderstanding of about the use of Program resources and redirection of Program emphasis within the clientele community, and perhaps the research community as well. Therefore, it is vital that the Director work diligently in communication efforts to reduce any confusion or misapprehension.

Communication between the Mosquito Research Program and the clientele is critical to the success of the Program as well as effective implementation of the research results into the field. Program Council strongly encourages the Director to make all annual reports available to the clientele and to post new annual reports before the end of each fiscal year. We are pleased to see in his response to the review that Director Lanzaro is committed to producing the reports in a timely fashion. We also insist that it is essential that the Director attend quarterly MVCAC meetings as part of regular communication efforts. The report makes it clear that it is vital for the clientele to provide research priorities to the Program and the Program to effectively communicate those priorities to the research community to facilitate the process of research project development. The annual e-mail solicitation to Vector Control districts for research priorities is an excellent starting point, but these efforts can be further improved through regular discussions with the appropriate committees of the MVCAC. Similarly, required presentation of research reports at the MVCAC annual meeting as suggested by the Review Team may help improve communication.

The Review Team spent a significant amount of time addressing program administration and the role of the MRP in outreach to the vector control community. Program Council advises the Director to consult regularly with the Public Advisory Committee and meet with that group at least twice a year to make sure that the priorities of the MRP and the interests of the clientele are being addressed. The bylaws of the MRP should be modified to specifically include the ANR Program Leader for Agricultural Policy and Pest Management as a member of PAC to ensure that the representation of Program Council is included in this oversight committee.

Program Council agrees with the assessment of the Review Team that the Program should be located in the unit that will enable the Program to achieve its greatest potential. In previous discussions, Program Council has agreed that SSP locations should be reevaluated at the end of a review cycle with the possibility of relocation through a competitive process. After a careful evaluation, Program Council has reached a consensus opinion on two aspects of location for the MRP. First, the location of the Program follows the location of the Director. Because Dr. Lanzaro has moved his appointment to the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, the MRP will be relocated from the Department of Entomology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to his new academic address. Second, a competitive call will be issued by ANR to determine the administrative location for the MRP for the next five-year cycle. Dr. Lanzaro’s first 5-year appointment as Director of the MRP ended in April 2007, and has not been formally renewed. In order to facilitate the competitive process for assigning the site for the Program, Dr. Lanzaro will be reappointed to his current position until 30 June 2008. The future location of the Program will be determined in the intervening period. Colleges or Schools within ANR can apply for consideration. A Call will be issued as soon as possible with application details.