Biology Preeminence Professor Derek Cummings will help lead the Southeast Regional Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, recently established by a $10 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This collaborative program will bring together researchers from the University of Florida, University of Washington, University of Miami, Florida International University, and University of South Florida to tackle challenges related to the understanding and control of vector-borne diseases such as Zika.
Dr. Cummings will serve as co-Principal Investigators for one of the four major projects funded by the Center of Excellence (CoE), Multi-scale, Modular Models for Vector-Borne Disease along with David Smith of the University of Washington. This project will create a model of disease risk using data collected by other CoE researchers on mosquito populations, vector-control strategies, and disease transmission patterns. The information gathered from modeling vector-borne diseases will allow researchers and public health agencies to determine the optimal strategies to eliminate disease.