Please tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to pursue a Ph.D. in the EMD Department (or your department) at the Yale School of Public Health?
I am currently a 3rd year PhD candidate in the EMD department. I was drawn to the unique learning environment offered by the EMD department to develop as a scientist. The department creates a community of infectious disease experts who utilize multidisciplinary methods to understand ongoing trends and changes to infectious disease transmission, their origins and determinants, and the effectiveness of interventions against these diseases. I really liked the emphasis on bringing together a variety of approaches to enable an understanding and ability to combat infectious disease at local and global levels.
What is the current focus of your field-based research?
My field-based research focuses on optimizing Wolbachia-based dengue control programs in Brazil to ensure their effective and equitable implementation as they are scaled up across Brazil and globally. This involves analyzing monitoring data from the field, experimenting with release and monitoring protocols, and simulating new approaches.
Please give a brief introduction to the field site where you work.
I work closely with the World Mosquito Program Brazil in both Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. I have conducted extensive field work in Belo Horizonte and have primarily engaged in field-based data analysis and modeling in Rio de Janeiro. These are complex, tropical urban environments, with a full spectrum of the socioeconomic environments, from large informal to ultra-rich urban settlements.
What are some of the most significant findings or innovations from your field work?
Through my field-based research in Belo Horizonte, I was able to determine that a lower-cost method of monitoring Wolbachia programs that use oviposition traps provides comparable predictive precision to the current gold-standard of BG-Sentinel traps in monitoring Wolbachia levels. I also developed a novel method of Wolbachia detection and Aedes speciation in single Aedes mosquito eggs using real-time quantitative PCR.
Which emerging trends or technologies in field work do you find most exciting?
I am particularly excited by novel methods of vector control that have emerged recently. For example, there is a new endosymbiotic bacteria being studied in China, which (similar to Wolbachia) blocks transmission of arboviruses in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, but can infect Aedes aegypti mosquitoes through their larval water habitats without making the water harmful to other animals.
Where do you see your field site heading in the next few years, and what role do you hope your work will play in this?
As the large-scale EVITA Dengue cluster-randomized control trial in Belo Horizonte wraps up, Wolbachia releases will begin in new areas. I have planned, in close collaboration with the World Mosquito Program, a field experiment of different Wolbachia release doses in these areas to determine the most efficient and effective dosing and am excited to see it begin.
How has the EMD Department supported your research and academic goals?
The flexibility of the curriculum, diversity of research areas among the incredible professors, and the combination of coursework and research rotations have enabled me to develop multidisciplinary skills. These include advanced quantitative methods, deep dives into vector biology, and the opportunity to design and conduct my own field-based research. I have also been so pleasantly surprised by all the professors’ kindness and willingness to help with any of my research questions.
What advice would you give to prospective students considering applying to the EMD training programs at Yale?
If you are interested in studying and making a real and positive impact on the burden of infectious diseases from a multidisciplinary perspective at both global and local levels, then this is the program for you.