R01AI165560

Next Generation Mosquito Control through Technology-Driven Trap Development and Artificial Intelligence Guided Detection of Mosquito Breeding Habitats - Project Summary

Each year, approximately 400 million people are infected with an arboviral disease from the bite of an Aedes spp mosquito. Aedes spp. mosquitoes are a leading public health threat due to their high competency to vector multiple pathogens, their preference to bite humans, and their ability to adapt to new domestic environments.

In the US, reintroduction and establishment of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito populations has resulted in local epidemics of Zika, dengue, and chikungunya in the past decade. Unfortunately, mosquito control programs in the US generally operate with limited budgets, forcing the majority of insecticide spraying to be conducted in reaction to population exposure instead of targeted prevention. This has also contributed to considerable growth of insecticide-resistant populations, yielding a widening gap of infrastructure vulnerability.

Our current proposal aims to leverage existing technologies from non-health disciplines to advance mosquito detection and abatement. We propose to validate the use of technology-driven mosquito traps that allow for high-throughput identification and counting of Aedes mosquitoes at various life stages to inform decision-making when selecting areas for insecticide spraying and abatement.

Additionally, we propose to develop rigorous remote sensing workflows for identification of neighborhood-level Aedes abundance risk and rapid detection of individual Aedes mosquito breeding habitats on a household level. This innovative proposal uses multi-year and real-world mosquito data from two different metropolitan areas to statistically adjust for variances in geographic ecologies, urban microclimates, seasonal climate patterns, and annual weather events.

Our study will result in low-cost tools immediately ready for broad distribution and integration by vector control agencies nationally. The outcomes of our study have the promise to directly impact vector control agency's decision-making processes for mosquito trapping site selection, inform preventative abatement protocols, and shorten the time required for mosquito collection and identification.

Furthermore, integration of our proposed technology traps and informed site selection maps will increase overall collection volumes while preserving scarce resources for local vector control agencies. This proposal has the potential to create a paradigm shift in how we approach vector control globally, with a targeted intervention resulting in significant economic, environmental, and clinical benefits.

University Of South Carolina

TO ASSIST PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO ESTABLISH, EXPAND AND IMPROVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS, TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS. TO ASSIST PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS, TO PROVIDE RESEARCH SERVICES AS REQUIRED BY THE AGENCY FOR PROGRAMS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES, AND CONTROLLING DISEASE CAUSED BY INFECTIOUS OR PARASITIC AGENTS, ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS. PROJECTS RANGE FROM STUDIES OF MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANTIGENIC STRUCTURE TO COLLABORATIVE TRIALS OF EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND VACCINES, MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS AS WELL AS RESEARCH DEALING WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS OR COMMUNITY POPULATIONS AND PROGRESS IN ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES. BECAUSE OF THIS DUAL FOCUS, THE PROGRAM ENCOMPASSES BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM EXPANDS AND IMPROVES PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE SBIR PROGRAM INTENDS TO INCREASE AND FACILITATE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTISTS DURING THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS) ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO APPROVE APPLICANTS FOR RESEARCH TRAINING IN SPECIFIED BIOMEDICAL SHORTAGE AREAS. IN ADDITION, INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS ARE MADE TO ENABLE INSTITUTIONS TO SELECT AND MAKE AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE TRAINING UNDER THE AEGIS OF THEIR INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAM.

93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [HHS - NIH]

Columbia, South Carolina 292083403 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 400% from $782,998 to $3,914,766.