AAAS AMA: Hi, we’re Maria Elena Bottazzi, Marcia Castro, Kacey Ernst,
and Anthony Wilson and we study vector-borne diseases. Ask us anything!
Abstract
Vector-borne diseases – infectious diseases that are carried between
humans or from animals to humans by organisms such as mosquitoes and
ticks – infect over 1 billion people and cause more than 1 million
deaths every year (World Health Organization,
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs387/en/). What makes someone
susceptible to vector-borne disease? What do globalization, climate
change, and human behavior have to do with where these diseases are
found? What vaccines are in development? We’re a diverse group of
infectious disease researchers – ask us anything! Maria Elena Bottazzi,
Associate Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of
Medicine. I lead the research, education and administration efforts of
my school, as a Professor of Pediatric Tropical Medicine and the Deputy
Director for the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital
Center for Vaccine Development. An internationally-recognized scientist
with more than 16 years of experience in translational
immunoparasitology research and vaccine development for neglected
tropical diseases, my major interest lies in the role of vaccines as
control tools integrated into international public and global health
programs and initiatives. I earned her PhD in 1995 from the University
of Florida. Marcia Castro, Associate Professor of Demography, Harvard
T.H. Chan School of Public Health.My research focuses on infectious
diseases (particularly mosquito borne), environmental change and health,
environmental management for vector control, spatial patterns of disease
transmission, and infant & child mortality. More specifically, I focus
on the development and use of multidisciplinary approaches, combining
data from different sources, to identify the determinants of disease
transmission in different ecological settings, providing evidence for
the improvement of current control policies, as well as the development
of new ones. I earned my PhD in Demography from Princeton University in
2002. Anthony Wilson, Integrative Entomology Group Leader, The Pirbright
Institute. I lead the Integrative Entomology group at The Pirbright
Institute in the UK, studying the ability of insects (particularly
mosquitoes) and ticks to transmit viruses and how this is affected by
the environment. I have contributed opinions as an expert on
vector-borne disease emergence for the European Food Safety Authority
and the Global Strategic Alliances for the Coordination of Research on
the Major Infectious Diseases of Animals and Zoonoses (STAR-IDAZ); I’m a
member of the MACSUR European network on the impacts of climate change
on food production via disease ecology; and I’m a Fellow of the Royal
Entomological Society. Additionally, I am a core member of Pirbright’s
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee, a site union representative
and sits on the national panel for the Athena SWAN Charter awards, which
recognize employer commitments to gender equality. I earned my PhD from
the University of Oxford in 2008. Kacey Ernst, Associate Professor of
Epidemiology, University of Arizona College of Public Health. My primary
research interests are in determining how human-environment interactions
alter risk of vector-borne disease transmission. I focus specifically on
questions surrounding the emergence of Aedes-borne viruses such as
dengue and Zika in the U.S.-Mexico border region and the development and
uptake of sustainable control strategies for malaria in western Kenya.
Recently, I partnered with the Centers for Disease Control to develop
Kidenga, a community-based surveillance mobile application that is
intended to educate communities and provide early warning of pathogen
emergence. I have presented to the public in a wide range of forums on
her research and the impact of climate change on human health, and
earned my PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan in 2006.
[edit] Okay guys, I’m afraid we’re heading off now. Thank you very
much for joining us, and hope we were able to give you some useful
answers!