Education
The Center for Vector-Borne Disease at UTRGV strives to increase educational opportunities for UTRGV students in the College of Science who are particularly interested in the area of vector-borne disease. Members work closely with community partners such as local health official and vector-borne agencies to develop educational opportunities. Additionally, new courses are being developed and included as part of various degree plans. Also created is OneHealth Course in conjunction with Texas A&M University and UT-Medical Branch which provides hands-on experience. New research opportunities are also being investigated and created in the area of vector-borne.
New Graduate Vector Biology Degree - The Center for Vector-Borne Disease is happy to announce a new degree program in biology. Students obtaining a thesis master's degree in biology may join the Vector Biology degree program. This program will help provide specialized education in the area of vectors, vector-biology, and vector-borne diseases. Interested students should apply no later than their first semester of the biology master's degree program. For more information, please contact Dr. Chris Vitek (christopher.vitek@utrgv.edu) with the subject line “Graduate Vector Biology Degree”.
Vitek Vector Laboratory Updates: Multiple graduates and undergraduate student projects are underway. One graduate student project is examining the genetic variability and population genetics of mosquitoes and determining if this can be used to determine information about mosquito movement patterns. This project is currently collecting field data and testing them genetically to determine how many females lay eggs in single location sites. A second graduate student project is examining the vertical transmission of disease from female to offspring mosquitoes. Eggs from infected females are being collected in controlled laboratory environments and soon be tested to determine the rate of passing disease from female mosquitoes to offspring. One undergraduate student is looking at how rapidly insecticide resistance may evolve under selected pressures (for or against resistance) and is currently monitoring the third generation of mosquitoes to assess changes in resistance. A final project will begin soon to assess environmental influences on mosquito susceptibility to insecticides. All these students will be presenting results at either the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America or the American Mosquito Control Association meeting.