SPEAKERS
This year's Conference theme is "Malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases: From elimination to prevention of reintroduction". For this reason, we've invited experts in malaria and in other mosquito-borne diseases. These experts come from different countries across Africa, America and Europe.
The Speakers
Delenasaw Yewhalaw
Prof Delenasaw Yewhalaw, PhD is a Professor of Medical Entomology and founding Head of Tropical and Infectious Diseases Research Center (TIDRC) at Jimma University, Ethiopia.
He has over 20 years extensive experience in research and teaching. His research focuses on malaria and other vector-borne infectious diseases. He authored or co-authored over 112 scientific publications. His research works had an impact on national health policy and practice.
He established Tropical and Infectious Diseases Research Center (TIDRC) at Sekoru, Ethiopia, with state-of-the-art facilities which serves as centre of excellence for infectious diseases research in Ethiopia, the region and beyond. He also established International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research Laboratories at Arjo-Didessa, Ethiopia.
He has co-developed a curriculum and launched a PhD programme in Tropical and Infectious Diseases at Jimma University through which he has mentored over 60 MSc and 5 PhD students. He has been awarded with several prestigious research grants from NIH, European Union, Wellcome Trust, WHO/TDR and Grand Challenge Canada, BOVA and others. Currently, he is a fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences (EAS).
El Hadji Amadou Niang
Dr. El Hadji Amadou Niang is a senior Medical Entomologist and Deputy Director at the Laboratoire d’Ecologie Vectorielle et Parasitaire (LEVP), Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in Senegal.
His interests encompass various aspects of mosquito vector ecology, population genetics and genomics, evolution and applied consequences of insecticide resistance, and the control of mosquito vectors of human disease, with a particular focus on malaria vectors.
Prior to his appointment as Interim Director of Scientific Programs, PAMCA, El Hadji worked as a consultant for WHO and UNDP in several sub-Saharan countries. He has also worked with several NGOs, including the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) as the Regional Malaria Vector Control Associate, Francophone West, and Central Africa.
As the current Interim Director of Scientific Programs at the Pan African Mosquito Control Association (PAMCA), El Hadji commits himself to saving lives and reducing the vector-borne diseases burden in the continent by helping to nurture a critical mass of African problem-solvers to solve Africa’s health and developmental problems, engaging equitably the female and male workforce to tackle VBD, strengthening local governments and reinforcing national and international partnership. Dr Niang is the co-lead of the RBM VCWG work stream 1 Task Team 4, addressing the non-biological threats of vector control tools/interventions. He provides technical support to NMCPs, training their staff in the design and implementation of targeted vector control interventions to eliminate active foci based on the Integrated Vector Management (IVM) strategy.
Dr. El Hadji Amadou Niang is an active member of several national and international technical committees and affiliated to numerous scientific vectors societies.
Manuel Lluberas
Manuel Lluberas is a Public Health Entomologist renowned globally for assembling the business architecture of mosquito population management initiatives in four continents.
He crafted the first WHO Operational Manual for Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and played a pivotal role in designing the structure of the IRS campaign of the US President’s Malaria Initiative and several mineral extraction companies. He served in several post-event emergency mosquito control operations.
Prior to establishing Mosquito Den LLC in 2021, he was Executive Director for Public Health for H.D. Hudson Manufacturing from 1996 through 2022.
He served as Medical Entomologist for the US Navy a dozen years. His contributions to public health entomology were recognised with the Global Trade Award from the Global Trade Chamber, the Meritorious Service Award of the American Mosquito Control Association, and two nominations for the Rear Admiral Charles S. Stevenson Award for excellence in US Navy Preventive Medicine.
Baltazar Cá
Dr. Baltazar Cá is an esteemed researcher with affiliations to the Bandim Health Project and the National Institute of Public Health in Guinea-Bissau. He obtained his PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Porto in Portugal.
His research is dedicated to elucidating the genetic diversity of malaria parasites and vector resistance to insecticides. Additionally, Baltazar serves as the Principal Investigator for Guinea-Bissau in The West Africa Mathematical Modeling Capacity Development (WAMCAD) program. This initiative was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and hosted at the University of Ghana and by other four African partners among them the Bandim Health Project.
The Project aims to bolster technical capacity in malaria and Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) modelling through a comprehensive training program encompassing Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone partners.
Moreover, Dr. Baltazar Cá is a recipient of the prestigious Carriere Development Fellowships from The Malaria Research Capacity Development Consortium (MARCAD). This fellowship program is dedicated to training a cadre of African scientists in West and Central Africa, empowering them to provide essential insights for malaria control and elimination efforts.
Viriato M’Bana
Dr. Viriato M'Bana is passionate about malaria research and Burkitt Lymphoma, having obtained his PhD in Biomedical Sciences with a focus on the physiology and biology of Plasmodium at the Lisbon Academic Medical Center of the University of Lisbon in Portugal.
His research is concentrated on uncovering the molecular link between malaria and cancer. Awarded grants by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and The World Academy of Sciences, research grants, Dr. M'Bana currently serves as Principal Investigator at the Bandim Health Project and the National Institute of Public Health in Guinea-Bissau. He is researching the epidemiology of Burkitt Lymphoma and its association with malaria in Guinea-Bissau.
Additionally, he is a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in the USA, where he is studying the interaction between human herpes virus and Plasmodium falciparum, which governs the etiology of endemic Burkitt Lymphoma, the most prevalent pediatric lymphoma in the Sub-Saharan region.
Lara Ferrero Gómez
Lara Ferrero Gómez, Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, with mention of merit, in the specialty of Molecular Biology, from the Autonomous University of Madrid in 2000, has developed an extensive path in health research, mainly in the area of infectious diseases.
From 2000/02, as a postgraduate, she investigated the pathogenicity mechanisms of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, at the Institute of Medical Microbiology at Justus Liebig Universitat, Germany. From 2003/05 she was a researcher at the Gonçalo Moniz Research Center- CPqGM/FIOCRUZ/BA, Brazil, investigating Leishmania in the Parasite-Host Interaction Laboratory. From 2007/08 she was a collaborating researcher at the Rare Diseases Laboratory at the University Hospital of Padova, Italy.
In 2008, she returned to Spain, to the Illes Baleares Technological Park ParcBit, with the aid for hiring R&D personnel in companies and technology centers. Since 2010, she has been a research professor at the Jean Piaget University of Cabo Verde (UniPiaget). Currently, she directs the Center for Research, International Relations and Advanced Training (CIRIFA), leading the management of several funded international projects and, being the institutional focal point and representative of UniPiaget for the ERASMUS mobility programmes. Furthermore, she coordinates the master's degree in Tropical Diseases.
Professor Lara is part, as a senior researcher and coordinator, of the GIDTPiaget Tropical Diseases Research Group, of which she is a founding member, at the UniPiaget. There, she develops research, training, and extension in the area of mosquito vector control. As a result of this work, she has participated in several national and international research and training projects in the area of vector control, enabling mobility and postgraduate studies for several students and teachers. As a result of her scientific work, she has presented more than twenty works at international scientific events and journals, coordinated national scientific events, and participated, as a reviewer, in international scientific journals, being part of the editorial board of Frontiers in Tropical Diseases. In 2019, she was honored by the Next Einstein Forum Africa Science Week, for her professional career as a woman researcher in favor of science in Cabo Verde.
She is a member of the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association PAMCA, the West African Aedes Surveillance Network WAASUN, and, the African Science Frontiers Initiatives ASFI.
Adilson de Pina
Adilson de Pina holds a PhD in Public Health from the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, a Masters in Public Health, an International Masters in Medical Entomology and in Human Biology and Environment. He is the Coordinator of the National Malaria Elimination Program at CCS-SIDA / Ministry of Health of Cabo Verde.
He has carried out studies and research in the epidemiology, entomology, social mobilization of malaria and others. He is Research Associate at the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) and Principal Investigator of Target Malaria in Cabo Verde, and leads the WADE and Freedom from Infection projects between INSP and LSHTM.
He has participated in several meetings for the evaluation of health programs, elaboration of strategic plans and proposals for financing with national and international partners. He has also benefited from several grants for participation in international conferences, from PAMCA, ASTMH, Gene Drive, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon) / Fundação La Caixa (Barcelona), MIM, Keystone Symposia and others.
Dr. Adilson de Pina has authored several articles published in international journals about malaria, HIV, COVID19 and he has been reviewer in some international reference publishing such as Malaria Journal, PlosOne, BMC Public Health, Frontiers, and others.
Davidson Monteiro
Davidson Monteiro has a degree in Clinical Analysis and Public Health and a postgraduate degree in Infectious and Tropical degree in Infectious and Tropical Diseases from Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde.
As an undergraduate, he was a member of the GIDTPiaget Tropical Diseases Research Group, and was awarded a scientific fellowship in Molecular Entomology at the Aggeu Magalhães Institute, FIOCRUZ-PE, where he worked on with glutathione-s transferase (GSTE) resistance genes in Aedes aegypti.
He has been collaborating on several studies in the field of medical entomology, trying to understand the bio-ecological and behavioral aspects of mosquitoes in Cabo Verde, with emphasis on updating the fauna and bioecology of culicidae in the archipelago and the implementation of systematic surveillance strategies for these vectors.
He has also been working on epidemiological research projects into malaria and arboviruses in Cabo Verde, as well as studies of mosquito resistance to insecticides and has participated in various national and international conferences and meetings focused on discussing improvements in strategies to combat vector-borne diseases.
He is currently a technician at the Medical Entomology Laboratory of the National Institute of Public Health of Cabo Verde, the focal point for vector control in the process of certification of malaria elimination in Cabo Verde, and focal point of the West African Aedes Surveillance Network (WAASuN) in Cabo Verde.
