Dr Luciano Moreira
FIOCRUZ/Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Luciano Moreira has extensive experience in pathogen/mosquito interactions and vector immunity. He will lead experimental work in Brazil to characterize the effects of Wolbachia infection on Brazilian Aedes aegypti strains.
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Thailand
Dr. Pattamaporn Kittayapong
Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Pattamaporn Kittayapong’s group has extensive experience with Wolbachia infections in mosquitoes, and the ecology and control of dengue vectors. Her research group will work closely with Prof. O’Neill to better understand dengue transmission in Thailand.
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Simon Kutcher
FHI, Hanoi, Vietnam
Simon Kutcher assists with the implementation of project activities in both Vietnam and Thailand, including the development of country specific frameworks for risk assessment and regulatory approval, assisting with community stakeholder engagement, and the development and implementation of monitoring protocols for a Wolbachia based intervention to reduce dengue transmission.
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Vietnam
Assoc. Prof. Vu Sinh Nam
Ministry of Health and National Dengue Project Team, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vu Sinh Nam has worked with Prof Kay since 1989 to establish new dengue control programs in Vietnam. Together they have developed an effective network of hundreds of personnel who understand contemporary strategies for vector surveillance and control, and who now have achieved Ae. aegypti eradication in 42 communities. Nam will be responsible for field team development and coordinating interactions between communities, government agencies and scientists. As a designated Head of Planning for Public Health in the Ministry of Health, he will be responsible for national liaison.
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Dr Cameron Simmons
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Cameron Simmons’ research incorporates epidemiology, genomics, bioinformatics, clinical trials, immunology and virology to better understand the factors associated with dengue transmission and human disease, including evaluation of new diagnostic tests and anti-viral drugs in randomised, controlled trials. Cameron is currently evaluating the Wolbachia induced viral interference in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes using dengue viruses obtained directly from patients in Vietnam.
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Simon Kutcher
FHI, Hanoi, Vietnam
Simon Kutcher assists with the implementation of project activities in both Vietnam and Thailand, including the development of country specific frameworks for risk assessment and regulatory approval, assisting with community stakeholder engagement, and the development and implementation of monitoring protocols for a Wolbachia based intervention to reduce dengue transmission.
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USA
Prof. Michael Turelli
Department of Evolution and Ecology and Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, USA.
Michael Turelli has collaborated with Ary Hoffmann on the population dynamics and evolution of Wolbachia in California populations of D. simulans since 1985. He has produced a wide range of mathematical analyses that have elucidated both the population dynamics of infection frequencies and the coevolutionary trajectories of Wolbachia and their hosts. He will work with Hoffmann’s group and with Nick Barton to understand experimentally and mathematically the consequences of life-shortening Wolbachia for the dynamics of Wolbachia and dengue infection frequencies within and among populations.
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Prof. Alun Lloyd
Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA
Alun Lloyd uses mathematical models and statistical analyses to understand the transmission of infectious diseases. He is using mathematical models to describe the spread of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes following their release, and is also developing models to help understand the epidemiological impact of Wolbachia-based population replacement strategies on dengue transmission.
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Dr Zhiyong Xi
Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA
Zhiyong Xi’s research focuses on the interactions between dengue viruses and Wolbachia in mosquitoes. In the Eliminate Dengue Program Zhiyong’s research is focused on the development of dengue resistant Wolbachia transinfected Aedes albopictus lines, which may form the basis of a Wolbachia strategy to reduce the dengue transmission in areas where Ae. albopictus is the dominant vector species.
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Collaborating scientists:
Dr Andrew van den Hurk
Queensland Health- Forensic and Scientific Services
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