My overall research interest is in population genomics and bioinformatics and how they may be applied to global health issues arising from mosquito-borne infectious diseases. I have expanded my program by integrating two additional themes: mathematical modeling and community engagement. My laboratory, the Vector Genetics Laboratory (VGL), is currently recognized as an international center of expertise in the application of contemporary molecular genetics toward the elimination of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. My work includes immunogenetics, adaptive introgression, invasive species, arbovirology, genetics of insecticide resistance, and bioinformatics. We are part of a multi-campus collaborative known as the University of California Malaria Initiative (UCMI) which includes teams on the Berkeley, Irvine, and San Diego campuses as well as a partnership with a group at Johns Hopkins University.

 

As part of UCMI (https://stopmalaria.org/) my lab is responsible for designing and implementing the first field trial of genetically engineered mosquitoes with gene drive. We have established field and laboratory facilities and teams at our study site in São Tomé & Príncipe (STP); an island nation situated roughly 300 km off the coast of Gabon, in the Gulf of Guinea. We established a new molecular biology laboratory at the University of São Tomé & Príncipe (USTP) in 2023 which is staffed with a lab manager and two technicians as well as a number of USTP students. The field station also includes an entomology team who run an insectary facility as well as conducting a large portfolio of field-based projects, including mark-release-recapture experiments, cataloging vertebrate and invertebrate non-target fauna, insecticide resistance monitoring, identification of mosquito host preferences and others. Our work was featured in an article in the New York Times in 2023. I oversee the research being conducted by both the field entomology and laboratory teams.

 

The deployment of any new technology for public health requires a significant social science component, especially as related to stakeholder engagement. My program manager, Ana Kormos, manages our community engagement program which employs over 50 community health educators in STP. She has developed and published our engagement program utilizing a “relationship-based model” and commitment to ethics, transparency, and true co-development. We work together to ensure that the information being disseminated to our stakeholders is scientifically accurate. The work in STP is supported by a grant from Open Philanthropy for which I serve as principal investigator.