Impact of malaria vector diversity on intervention strategies

项目摘要 马拉维的疟疾负担是世界上最高的之一，尽管标准疟疾覆盖率不断提高， 在过去的二十年里，干预。导致寄生虫持续传播的一个因素是 疟疾病媒的多样性，但对这种多样性的重要方面仍知之甚少。校长 研究人员罗伯特·麦肯博士是亚利桑那大学疟疾研究项目的病媒生物学家。 马里兰州医学院。他将使用现场和实验室数据的组合， 通过三个具体目标来解决这些差距的计算方法。目标1将表征向量 非洲两种主要的疟疾媒介物种-不死按蚊和阿拉伯按蚊的能力， 马拉维，使用实验性膜喂养测定与现场收集的安。funestus和An.阿拉伯的。目的 2将评估病媒能力的物种水平差异对疟疾干预措施效力的影响 使用基于代理人的随机模型比较疟疾干预措施的效果， 蚊子对恶性疟原虫感染易感性的变化范围。目标3将决定关系 非洲疟疾病媒的地理邻近性和遗传相关性之间的关系 利用生物信息学工具估计疟疾病媒的迁移模式。这些研究的结果将改善 我们对疟疾寄生虫传播持续性的理解。 McCann博士的目标是成为媒介生态学的独立研究者，同时保持 加强跨学科合作，以推动疟疾干预措施的设计， 执行和评价。为了实现这一目标，他提出了一个全面的职业发展计划， 将提高他在疟疾病媒生态学方面的现有技能，同时在1）实验性 感染测定，2）基于病原体的传染病建模，3）空间显式遗传和基因组分析， 以及4）专业发展，特别关注领先的国际研究。 McCann博士组建了一个由导师组成的高度成就和多学科团队， 具有独特专业知识的合作者，包括全球卫生研究、疟疾传播、病媒 生物学、基因组学和生物信息学、人口遗传学、传染病建模和地理空间科学。 他的导师也有成功指导学员和初级教师的记录，并有强大的联系 与疟疾政策的利益攸关方合作。马里兰州大学医学院和疟疾预警中心 在马拉维将共同提供理想的环境，麦肯博士建立一个研究利基解决 在疟疾病媒生物学知识方面存在重大差距，这将有助于改善马拉维的疟疾控制， 其他疟疾流行国家。

PROJECT SUMMARY The burden of malaria in Malawi is among the highest in the world despite increasing coverage of standard interventions over the last two decades. One factor that contributes to continued parasite transmission is the diversity of malaria vectors, yet important aspects of this diversity remain poorly characterized. The Principal Investigator, Dr. Robert McCann, is a vector biologist in the Malaria Research Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He will use a combination of field and laboratory data together with advanced computational methods to address these gaps through three specific aims. Aim 1 will characterize vector competence in Anopheles funestus and Anopheles arabiensis, the two dominant malaria vector species in Malawi, using experimental membrane feeding assays with field-collected An. funestus and An. arabiensis. Aim 2 will assess the impact of species-level variation in vector competence on malaria intervention effectiveness using an agent-based stochastic model to compare malaria intervention effectiveness under scenarios with a range of variation in mosquito susceptibility to P. falciparum infection. Aim 3 will determine the relationship between geographic proximity and genetic relatedness for malaria vectors in Africa using geospatially informed bioinformatics tools to estimate migration patterns of malaria vectors. The results from these studies will improve our understanding of the persistence of malaria parasite transmission. Dr. McCann’s goal is to become an independent investigator in vector ecology, while maintaining the strong interdisciplinary collaborations necessary to make advancements in malaria intervention design, implementation, and evaluation. Towards this goal, he proposes a comprehensive career development plan that will enhance his existing skills in malaria vector ecology while providing mentored training in 1) experimental infection assays, 2) agent-based infectious disease modeling, 3) spatially explicit genetic and genomic analyses, and 4) professional development with a special focus on leading international research. Dr. McCann has assembled a highly accomplished and multidisciplinary team of mentors and collaborators with unique areas of expertise including global health research, malaria transmission, vector biology, genomics and bioinformatics, population genetics, infectious disease modeling and geospatial science. His mentors also have a track record of successfully mentoring trainees and junior faculty and strong connections with malaria policy stakeholders. The University of Maryland School of Medicine and The Malaria Alert Center in Malawi will together provide the ideal environment for Dr. McCann to establish a research niche addressing critical gaps in knowledge about malaria vector biology that will lead to improved malaria control in Malawi and other malaria-endemic countries.