Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases

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Northeast Regional Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases. Project summary/abstract Over the decades, strong training in medical entomology and vector borne disease epidemiology has waned, limiting the number of knowledgeable and well trained professionals available to respond to vector borne disease emergencies in our constantly changing world. In addition, resources and organization of basic applied research that could lead to improvements in vector surveillance and control has been limited, and public health programs have been fractious and often uncoordinated across regions. In this proposal, we outline a research and training agenda that will address these gaps and fill critical needs through the development of a highly integrative Regional Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases. We will accomplish these goals across 3 Specific Aims to (1) conduct applied research to develop and validate effective vector borne disease prevention and control tools and methods necessary to anticipate and respond to disease outbreaks; (2) train a cadre of public health entomologists with the knowledge and skills required to rapidly detect, prevent and respond to vector-borne disease threats in the United States; and (3) build effective collaborations between academic communities and public health organizations at federal, state, and local levels for vector borne disease surveillance, response and prevention. Innovations for our Center include an integrated degree program, postdoctoral cross-training and needs assessment-driven workshops. In addition, our collaborative applied research efforts, decades-long surveillance efforts and biological data records, combined with new research approaches proposed herein, will enable us to address important problems in a new and unique way. We have assembled a highly accomplished and talented collaborative team of experts representing the spectrum of essential skills necessary to carry out our proposed goals for the CDC Northeast Regional Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases.