OUR MISSION IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ERADICATION OF HUMAN MALARIA
We are genetically modifying mosquito populations to prevent them from transmitting the parasites that cause malaria. The aim is to collaborate with malaria-endemic countries to develop new tools to add to the existing methods of malaria control. If a country determines that the genetically modified mosquito is an appropriate malaria control tool for them, they will co-develop the modified mosquito and the implementation strategy required for a release.
The vast majority of malaria cases and deaths occur in Africa. For this reason, the African Anopheles malaria mosquitoes are the main focus of research by UCMI scientists, who have spent decades studying these mosquitoes.
UCMI IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE
RELATIONSHIP-BASED
APPROACH
Our work emphasizes the importance of establishing open dialogue, collaboration, and relationships of trust with stakeholders and community members where research is being conducted. It places stakeholders and community members at the center of the decision-making processes that drive every phase of the research.
Malaria is one of the oldest and deadliest diseases in the world and it is completely preventable. We are committed to working in collaboration with our partner research institutions, funders, collaborators in Africa and Europe, regulatory experts, and other malaria control organizations in an effort to eradicate this devastating disease.
UCMI takes a team-based approach to every aspect of its research. The program recognizes the importance of an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses diverse areas of expertise and experience. Within the program we have multiple components comprising groups of people who work collaboratively and are defined by their function. All components complement each other, are driven by the same commitment and goal, and come together to form the UCMI program.
Learn about the functions of each component of our UCMI team below.
This component includes the design, construction, and preliminary evaluations of the modified mosquitoes in laboratory cages. The research involves the design, construction, and evaluation of beneficial genes that block parasite development in the mosquito, and the construction of the gene drive systems that promote the introduction and spread of these genes into natural populations. It also includes the laboratory evaluation of how well the effector genes and the gene drive are performing in cage populations.
Dr. Anthony A. James is the principal investigator of the research group at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). He is a Donald Bren and Distinguished Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics (School of Medicine) and Molecular Biology & Biochemistry (School of Biological Sciences), and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA). An alumnus of UCI, he did postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School and Brandeis University. His research group is recognized widely for its contributions to molecular biological investigations of mosquitoes and the development of genetic approaches to controlling vector-borne diseases. Their work for UCMI involves the development of engineered genes that interfere with malaria parasite development in mosquitoes coupled with gene-drive systems as part of a population modification control strategy.
Dr. Ethan Bier is an Allen Distinguished professor in the section of Cell and Developmental Biology at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He received his Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School where he studied regulation of immune genes and did his postdoctoral studies at UCSD on the development of the nervous system. Dr. Bier was a pioneer in developing the CRISPR-Cas9 based Gene Drive system, initially in Drosophila, and subsequently in mosquitoes, in partnership with Dr. James.
Dr. George Dimopoulos is a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. He serves as deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and director of its Parasitology Core facility. Dr. Dimopoulos has developed pathogen resistant mosquitoes based on genetic engineering of the mosquito’s immune system, and CRISPR/CAS9-based disruption of pathogen host factor.
This component provides predictions about how the modified mosquitoes will behave when they are introduced into a natural mosquito population and in environments inside and outside of the laboratory. Modeling helps to provide answers to questions such as: How many modified mosquitoes would need to be released at a specific time? How will modified mosquitoes spread geographically? What is the timeframe for spread of the modified mosquitoes? More information about our modeling work can be found HERE.
Dr. John Marshall is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at University of California, Berkeley. He received his PhD in biomathematics from UCLA writing his dissertation on the use of GM mosquitoes to control malaria. He worked on the social and regulatory issues of this project at the Malaria Research and Training Center in Mali, molecular biology at Caltech, and infectious disease modeling at Imperial College London, prior to joining UC Berkeley. His current research focuses on the use of mathematical models to support efforts to control and eliminate mosquito-borne diseases.
This component will help determine criteria used to evaluate possible sites for conducting a field trial with modified mosquitoes. Field science research is conducted on-site at potential field sites in order to collect data about: the natural mosquito populations that live there, other environmental and social factors that determine if a release of modified mosquitoes is possible, and where and when the best time would be to do a modified mosquito release. Field science also includes post-release monitoring and surveillance.
Dr. Gregory C. Lanzaro is a Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, and the founder and chief of the Vector Genetics Laboratory at University of California, Davis. He has over 35 years’ experience in the field of medical entomology, with a focus on vector population genetics. Dr. Lanzaro has extensive field experience in Africa and his role in the UCMI project is to lead the effort in conducting field trials to evaluate the performance of genetically engineered mosquitoes, and to determine their efficacy in eliminating malaria.
Dr. Anthony Cornel is a Medical Entomologist and a Professor for the Department of Entomology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at University of California, Davis. He received his master’s degree and PhD in South Africa where his studies focused on African arboviruses and their mosquito vectors. His areas of expertise include mosquito cytogenetics, ecology, genomics, systematics, and population biology, with a particular emphasis on field ecology. He has over 30 years of field experience working in Africa and will be leading studies of mosquito ecology at the UCMI field sites.
The field site is essential to the successful development and application of all other UCMI components. Leaders and collaborators at the field site directly participate in the development of the project work plans, timelines and decisions that determine how the science will be applied, regulated, and monitored, and how communities, stakeholders and public groups will be engaged. Important Collaborators at our field site include the Ministry of Health, National Malaria Control Program, National University, and the WHO.
This component is defined as the facilitation and support of, collaboration and of open communication and dialogue for the exchange of knowledge, perspectives, opinions, and preferences among diverse groups of people including field-site stakeholders, community members, public groups, regulators, and external experts and scientists. UCMI has adopted a relationship-based model (RBM) in their approach to community and regulatory engagement. This model provides a framework that supports decentralized decision making and emphasizes the importance of field-site stakeholder and community member leadership in the development and implementation of engagement strategies, definitions, and decisions. We believe that an approach for the application of gene drive technology requires strategies that reflect the important biological and social dynamics unique to the place and population where the technology may be applied.
Ana Kormos
Ms. Ana Kormos received her Master of Public Health at University of California, Davis. She has more than 12 years of experience working in executive leadership roles for community health centers and has led system-wide transformation of care delivery using the relationship-based model. She has experience in development and implementation of community engagement programs in rural, underserved communities in the United States and in Mexico. She is the Engagement Program Manager for UCMI.
This component includes the design, construction, and preliminary evaluations of the modified mosquitoes in laboratory cages. The research involves the design, construction, and evaluation of beneficial genes that block parasite development in the mosquito, and the construction of the gene drive systems that promote the introduction and spread of these genes into natural populations. It also includes the laboratory evaluation of how well the effector genes and the gene drive are performing in cage populations.
Dr. Anthony A. James is the principal investigator of the research group at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). He is a Donald Bren and Distinguished Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics (School of Medicine) and Molecular Biology & Biochemistry (School of Biological Sciences), and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA). An alumnus of UCI, he did postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School and Brandeis University. His research group is recognized widely for its contributions to molecular biological investigations of mosquitoes and the development of genetic approaches to controlling vector-borne diseases. Their work for UCMI involves the development of engineered genes that interfere with malaria parasite development in mosquitoes coupled with gene-drive systems as part of a population modification control strategy.
Dr. Ethan Bier is an Allen Distinguished professor in the section of Cell and Developmental Biology at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He received his Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School where he studied regulation of immune genes and did his postdoctoral studies at UCSD on the development of the nervous system. Dr. Bier was a pioneer in developing the CRISPR-Cas9 based Gene Drive system, initially in Drosophila, and subsequently in mosquitoes, in partnership with Dr. James.
Dr. George Dimopoulos is a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. He serves as deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and director of its Parasitology Core facility. Dr. Dimopoulos has developed pathogen resistant mosquitoes based on genetic engineering of the mosquito’s immune system, and CRISPR/CAS9-based disruption of pathogen host factor.
This component provides predictions about how the modified mosquitoes will behave when they are introduced into a natural mosquito population and in environments inside and outside of the laboratory. Modeling helps to provide answers to questions such as: How many modified mosquitoes would need to be released at a specific time? How will modified mosquitoes spread geographically? What is the timeframe for spread of the modified mosquitoes? More information about our modeling work can be found HERE.
Dr. John Marshall is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at University of California, Berkeley. He received his PhD in biomathematics from UCLA writing his dissertation on the use of GM mosquitoes to control malaria. He worked on the social and regulatory issues of this project at the Malaria Research and Training Center in Mali, molecular biology at Caltech, and infectious disease modeling at Imperial College London, prior to joining UC Berkeley. His current research focuses on the use of mathematical models to support efforts to control and eliminate mosquito-borne diseases.
This component will help determine criteria used to evaluate possible sites for conducting a field trial with modified mosquitoes. Field science research is conducted on-site at potential field sites in order to collect data about: the natural mosquito populations that live there, other environmental and social factors that determine if a release of modified mosquitoes is possible, and where and when the best time would be to do a modified mosquito release. Field science also includes post-release monitoring and surveillance.
Dr. Gregory C. Lanzaro is a Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, and the founder and chief of the Vector Genetics Laboratory at University of California, Davis. He has over 35 years’ experience in the field of medical entomology, with a focus on vector population genetics. Dr. Lanzaro has extensive field experience in Africa and his role in the UCMI project is to lead the effort in conducting field trials to evaluate the performance of genetically engineered mosquitoes, and to determine their efficacy in eliminating malaria.
Dr. Anthony Cornel is a Medical Entomologist and a Professor for the Department of Entomology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at University of California, Davis. He received his master’s degree and PhD in South Africa where his studies focused on African arboviruses and their mosquito vectors. His areas of expertise include mosquito cytogenetics, ecology, genomics, systematics, and population biology, with a particular emphasis on field ecology. He has over 30 years of field experience working in Africa and will be leading studies of mosquito ecology at the UCMI field sites.
The field site is essential to the successful development and application of all other UCMI components. Leaders and collaborators at the field site directly participate in the development of the project work plans, timelines and decisions that determine how the science will be applied, regulated, and monitored, and how communities, stakeholders and public groups will be engaged. Important Collaborators at our field site include the Ministry of Health, National Malaria Control Program, National University, and the WHO.
This component is defined as the facilitation and support of, collaboration and of open communication and dialogue for the exchange of knowledge, perspectives, opinions, and preferences among diverse groups of people including field-site stakeholders, community members, public groups, regulators, and external experts and scientists. UCMI has adopted a relationship-based model (RBM) in their approach to community and regulatory engagement. This model provides a framework that supports decentralized decision making and emphasizes the importance of field-site stakeholder and community member leadership in the development and implementation of engagement strategies, definitions, and decisions. We believe that an approach for the application of gene drive technology requires strategies that reflect the important biological and social dynamics unique to the place and population where the technology may be applied.
Ana Kormos
Ms. Ana Kormos received her Master of Public Health at University of California, Davis. She has more than 12 years of experience working in executive leadership roles for community health centers and has led system-wide transformation of care delivery using the relationship-based model. She has experience in development and implementation of community engagement programs in rural, underserved communities in the United States and in Mexico. She is the Engagement Program Manager for UCMI.
