Vector Biology and Malaria Transmission

The Transmission and Vector Biology Unit within the Malaria Research Program conducts research on malaria vectors and parasite transmission using a combination of field, laboratory, and computational approaches, with the overall goal of improving the effectiveness of interventions to prevent malaria. Ongoing projects include studies to understand the factors that modulate human-to-mosquito transmission of malaria parasites, identification of population structure and connectivity (via migration/dispersal) in Anopheles populations using genomic data, and studies to investigate the spatio-temporal distributions of Anopheles mosquitoes and the effects of factors such as weather/climate, land cover, house design and interventions on those distributions.

The unit is led by Dr. Rob McCann, a medical entomologist specializing in the ecology of malaria vectors.