À propos de l'instructeur :
Dr. Emma Fairbanks is a Research Fellow in Health Inequalities in the Mathematics Department at the University of Manchester. She develops mathematical models to increase understanding of vector-borne disease transmission and control. Her research integrates vector biology, human behaviour, and pathogen dynamics to understand transmission heterogeneity - how disease risk concentrates among high-risk populations shaped by occupation, gender roles and socio-economic factors. Her goal is to transform these academic findings into practical tools for disease elimination by co-developing open-source software packages and decision-support systems with partners across endemic countries - tools that national programs can implement with their own data, working toward a future where all countries have the quantitative frameworks needed to achieve elimination efficiently and equitably.
Résumé du séminaire
The talk focused on evaluating malaria vector control interventions—specifically insecticide-treated nets (ITNs)—by comparing traditional experimental hut trials with newer Ifakara ambient chamber tests. The presenter explained how mosquito feeding and mortality behaviors (before and after feeding) can be quantified using hierarchical Bayesian models tailored to the different types of data generated by these two testing approaches.Results showed that while ambient chamber tests often produced more conservative estimates than experimental huts, both methods yielded broadly consistent patterns in reduced feeding and increased mortality, leading to similar predictions of reduced malaria transmission potential. Overall, the findings suggest that ambient chamber tests can provide reliable, cost-effective early evidence to guide the selection of vector control interventions for malaria control programs, supporting more efficient, evidence-based decision-making.
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