WELCOME
Welcome to the 2023 Quarter 4 edition of CREATE-NEO News from the Center for Research on Emerging Arboviral Threats Encompassing the Neotropics. This resource shares our collective research to anticipate, identify, and help forestall the emergence of pathogenic arboviruses across the Neotropics. CREATE-NEO is part of the Centers for Research on Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) – an interactive, collaborative research network funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
In recent months CREATE-NEO has expanded sustainable scientific capacity through training and mentorship. We have advanced vaccines, diagnostics, and modelling tools to prevent and contain outbreaks. Our team has shared new research findings and accrued knowledge in person and in print, including two volumes of the History of Arbovirology: Memories From the Field. And we have celebrated the lives and achievements of our valued colleagues.
Thank you for taking time to learn about our work. We have more exciting developments to share in the months ahead.
Nikos, Kathy, and Megan
CONTENTS
IN BRIEF
IN FOCUS
IN PRINT
IN MEMORIAM
in brief
Team News
In June 2023 CREATE-NEO welcomed two new team members at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).
Kristin Sloyer, PhD
Kristin Sloyer, PhD is a post-doctoral fellow in the Vasilakis lab studying mosquito population dynamics and changes in host-vector contact in the Pantanal region of Brazil. Kristin completed her doctorate at the University of Florida Medical Entomological Laboratory. There she focused on the ecology of enzootic vectors for alphaviruses in Florida and Panama.
Megan Averill is CREATE-NEO’s new program manager focused on communications, performance management, and coordination across projects and teams. Previously she served as a scientific program leader at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and as a technical advisor for global health and development programs in Asia and Africa.
Megan Averill with CREATE-NEO Investigator Cassia Estofolete, MD, PhD (FAMERP/Brazil)
In mid-2023 CREATE-NEO also welcomed the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) as a partner. Betânia Drumond, PhD and Mauro Teixeira, MD, PhD serve as joint principal investigators for CREATE-NEO’s increasingly important work with UFMG and in the Belo Horitonze. Dr. Drumond is an Assistant Professor in Microbiology and CREID Pilot Research Program awardee. Her interests include arboviral surveillance, characterization, evolution, and dynamics. Dr. Teixeira is a Professor of Immunology and clinician with expertise in immunological responses to arboviral infections. Their laboratories will lead ecological, virological, and clinical research in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.
Dr. Drumond and team visit a sample collection site in Belo Horizonte’s Parque Municipal Jacques Cousteau (July 2023).
BUILDING CAPACITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Dr. Nikos Vasilakis with Grant Writing Workshop participants, June 2023
Grant Writing Workshop
In June CREATE-NEO partnered with the West Africa Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (WAC-EID) to lead a one-day workshop on grant writing. The event took place at the CREID Network’s 2023 Annual Meeting at the NIH/National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Principal investigators for CREATE-NEO (Drs. Hanley and Vasilakis) and WAC-EID (Dr. Scott Weaver, PhD) led the workshop.
The curriculum was adapted from a week-long course developed by Drs. Hanley and Vasilakis. It draws on their combined 40+ years of experience designing and leading major NIH-funded research programs, serving on NIH study sections to review grant submissions, and mentoring new investigators. Topics included grant structure and specific aims, significance and innovation, and the grant review process.
To ensure substantive engagement, the workshop was limited to a small but diverse group. Participants represented four research centers and five institutions in four countries. By the close of the workshop they had presented and received feedback on draft sections of their funding applications and practiced reviewing others’, and identified next steps towards submitting their proposals.
PARTICIPANTS
- EpiCenter for Emerging Infectious Disease Intelligence | Uganda Virus Research Institute and Bwindi Community Hospital (Uganda)
- CREATE-NEO | Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP, Brazil)
- Pasteur International Center for Research on Emerging Infctious Diseases (PICREID) | Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (Cambodia)
- United World Antiviral Research Network (UWARN): Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Épidémiologique et Formation (IRESSEF, Senegal)
Empowering Argentine Investigators
CREATE-NEO partnered with the EpiCenter for Disease Dynamics (EpiCenter) to mentor a local investigator in grant submission. Dr. Hanley and EpiCenter’s Lark Coffey, PhD worked with Adrian Diaz, PhD to apply for research funding on bird-borne arbovirus exchange in Argentine wetlands. Dr. Diaz is a medical entomologist and research professor with the Instituto de Virología Dr. José María Vanella (InViV) of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. The proposal was originally developed for the CREID pilot research program.
The exercise elucidated an opportunity for continued collaboration and mentoring across international institutions. Drs. Hanley and Coffey supported Dr. Diaz to reformulate his pilot project concept into a formal proposal for a five-year program. This summer he submitted his application to the NIH for an R01 award. The exercise strengthened Dr. Diaz’ facility to lead proposals for NIH funding and familiarity with complex multi-institutional, multinational research design. If awarded, he will continue working with Drs. Hanley and Coffey to implement the program.
In mid-2023 CREATE-NEO and WAC-EID also celebrated the long-awaited launch of a CREID pilot research project in Argentina. Dr. Kathryn Hanley is partnering with Dr. Robert Cross, PhD, MPH (UTMB and WAC-EID) to mentor Maria Martin, PhD and Carina Sen, MSc of Argentina’s Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Virales Humanas (INEVH). Drs. Martin and Sen are investigating pathogenic mammarenaviruses and orthohantaviruses. Dr. Hanley has provided hands-on support to help the investigators refine their research design, including for field work with rodents that carry these viruses and analysis of collected samples.
Next generation sequencing in Panama
CREATE-NEO is working to promote sustainable scientific capacity with its global south partners. To this end, the program received supplemental funding to provide an Illumina iSeq 100 system to the Gorgas Institute in Panama. While the Institute already serves as a regional leader in human genomic surveillance, the new equipment fills a critical niche. CREATE-NEO/Gorgas Institute investigators are using it to rapidly detect and characterize viruses in research samples collected from wildlife, livestock, arthropods, and febrile patients. Work will include identifying potential new viruses or subtypes and genomic profiles. In August, Gorgas Institute research staff received hands-on training to scale-up use of the equipment.
Brigitte Henriquez, Anakena Castillo, and Leyda Abrega of Gorgas Institute participate in training on the Illumina iSeq 100, August 2023 (photo: Zeuz Capitán).
OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT
Dr. Lívia Sacchetto discusses CREATE-NEO research findings with the CREID Network, June 2023.
CREATE-NEO researchers regularly share their work in virtual seminars, national meetings, and international conferences. These events allow investigators to disseminate their research findings, interrogate them with fellow scientists, and explore potential collaborations. Senior investigators empower their trainees to present in these venues and develop their scientific communication skills.
External fora also provide important opportunities for CREATE-NEO researchers to interface with national authorities, multilateral bodies, and civil society groups. With real-time dialogue they can further explain research designs and findings, explore potential implications from recent discoveries, gather community input, consider future research directions, and strengthen trust across stakeholders. Participating in meetings in partner countries and regions is essential.
CREID Network
2023 Annual Meeting
In June the CREID Network convened more than 200 participants for its’ 2023 Annual Meeting. The event took place at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. It featured more than 80 scientific presentations, panels, and posters; and a keynote address by Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Head of Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses for the World Health Organization.
CREATE-NEO scientists presentations covered a breadth of topics, from rapid diagnostics to vectors, hosts, immunology, and clinical manifestations for arboviruses and SARS-CoV-2. Barbara Han, PhD served as a panelist on climate change and emerging infectious diseases. Drs. Hanley and Vasilakis also led a capacity building workshop on grant writing with Dr. Scott Weaver of WAC-EID.
All CREATE-NEO partners and sites joined in the event, whether virtually or in person. Participants connected with other research centers and stakeholders, presented latest findings, and explored potential collaborations.
The meeting also increased CREATE-NEO trainees’ engagement with the CREID Network. Post-doctoral scholars Drs. Lívia Sacchetto (FAMERP) and Alfred Harding (MIT) delivered oral presentations.
CREATE-NEO PRESENTERS AND TOPICS
- Eduardo Hernandez-Acosta (NMSU): Some like it hot: How urban microclimate across a tropical city impacts Aedes mosquito life-history and vector competence
- Lee Gehrke (MIT): Rapid antigen test detects dengue virus infection in single mosquitoes
- Maurício Nogueira (FAMERP): Influence of COVID-19 vaccine on intra-host genetic variability of SARS-CoV-2
- Alfred Harding (MIT): Rocio virus rapid diagnostics development: NS1 protein expression, immunization, and single B-cell sorting to identify antibody pairs
- Lívia Sacchetto (FAMERP): Detection of insect-specific viruses in mosquitoes collected in urban and forest fragment areas of northwest São Paulo State, Brazil
- Cassie Estofolete (FAMERP): Predictors of severity in acute dengue infection during an epidemic in Brazil
- Sandra Lopez-Verges (Gorgas): Seroprevalence of arboviruses in sloths from a rural zone with fast urbanization close to Panama City
- Barbara Han (Cary Institute): Panelist on climate change and EIDs
- Nikos Vasilakis (UTMB): Research center overview and progress
Top row, left to right: Drs. Ben Althouse, Nikos Vasilakis, Lee Gehrke, Kathryn Hanley, and Shannan Rossi.
Bottom row, left to right: Drs. Lívia Sacchetto, Maurício Nogueira, and Betânia Drumond.
V FAMERP UTMB
Emerging Infections in the Americas
Invited speakers included Dr. Chris Barker from UC Davis and the CREID Network’s EpiCenter for Emerging Infectious Disease Intelligence (here with senior CREATE-NEO investigator Dr. Mauricio Nogueira).
The meeting also provided an excellent educational opportunity for the more than 60 scientist trainees in attendance. Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows working with CREATE-NEO investigators delivered numerous oral and poster presentations. For many this was their first experience delivering a scientific talk in English to a multinational audience. Their intensive preparation was clear. CREATE-NEO applauds this burgeoning class of researchers and their mentors.
The CREATE-NEO program features robust partnerships with
Brazilian scientists. This builds on decades of collaboration between UTMB and the Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP).
In July 2023 FAMERP and UTMB hosted their fifth major joint meeting: V FAMERP-UTMB: Emerging Infections in the Americas - Common Interests and Collaboration Between North-South. The event featured presentations and multi-day engagement with scientists from across the Americas. In addition to those from Brazil, UTMB, and CREATE-NEO, speakers included Drs. Chris Barker (UC Davis/CREID EpiCenter), Daniela Weiskopf (La Jolla Institute for Immunology, US), and Ilaria Dorigatti (Imperial College London)
UFMG/Drumond Laboratory trainees Mathieus Arruda and Gabriel Moreira focus intently on a presentation.
Dr. Leonardo Oliveira (UFMG) and Dr. Lívia Sacchetto (FAMERP) with Dr. Betânia Drumond (UFMG)
medtrop 2023
In September the 58th Conference of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine (MEDTROP 2023) featured presentations by CREATE-NEO investigators Drs. Vasilakis, Nogueira, and Teixeira on Ilheus virus, Mayaro virus, development of vaccines for arboviruses overall, treatment for dengue fever, and cross-immunity for dengue and Zika viruses.
Virologia 2023
Dr. Betânia Drumond serves as the 2023-24 Vice President of the Brazilian Society of Virology (SBV). She played a leading role in organizing the 34th Brazilian Congress on Virology (Virologia 2023). In addition to Dr. Drumond, CREATE-NEO speakers at the meeting included Dr. Shannan Rossi, Dr. Nikos Vasilakis, Dr. Lívia Sacchetto, and Dr. Mauricio Nogueira.
Dr. Vasilakis also served as member of the scientific committee for the Hélio Gelli Pereira Prize presented at the event. This competitive award recognizes outstanding work from virology students in Brazil.
TropMed 2023
CREATE-NEO was also well represented at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (TropMed 2023). Established and early career CREATE-NEO investigators from multiple countries, organizations, and research sites presented, including:
- Hélène Cecilia, PhD (NMSU) on “Investigating the potential of dengue and Zika virus to establish a sylvatic transmission cycle in the Neotropics through a modeling lens.” Dr. Cecilia delivered oral presentations during both a scientific session and a special session recognizing young investigators. She also presented to the American Committee on Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases (ACAV) from which she received a travel scholarship to participate in the conference.
- Maurício Nogueira, MD, PhD (FAMERP) on “Efficacy and safety of Butantan-DV live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine from a phase 3 clinical trial in children, adolescents, and adults”
- Lívia Sacchetto, PhD (FAMERP) on “Intra-host diversity in vaccinated COVID-19 patients infected with different SARS-CoV-2 Variants”, “Investigation of medically important arboviruses and insect-specific viruses in the sylvatic and urban vectors of Yellow Fever virus collected in the Brazilian Amazon”, and “Detection of insect-specific viruses in mosquitoes collected in urban and forest fragment areas of northwest Sao Paulo State, Brazil”
- Sandra Lopez, PhD (Gorgas Institute) on “Seroprevalence of arboviruses in sloths from a rural zone with fast urbanization close to Panama City”
- Luis Felipe Rivera, MD (Gorgas Institute) on “Challenges towards clinical Alphavirus encephalitis diagnostics in a dengue endemic country"
Dr. Sandra Lopez (left, with Dr. Kathryn Hanley) and Dr. Luis Rivera presented posters atTropMed 2023
CREATE-NEO Virtual Seminar Series on Vector-Borne
and Zoonotic Diseases
One of the program’s most successful outreach activities has been its virtual seminar series. Since CREATE-NEO’s inception in 2020, the series has hosted more than 30 talks from a widely diverse array of scientific experts. The events are routinely well attended, drawing audiences from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceana. The series runs from September through August annually.
The fourth year of the series kicked off with a presentation by Dr. M. Kariuki Njenga (Washington State University/Kenya) on Rift Valley fever in East Africa. Dr. Njenga is also PI for the Center for Research on Emerging Infectious Diseases in East and Central Africa (CREID-ECA). Scientists from across the CREID Network have participated in the series.
Recent and upcoming presentations are listed below. Register for invitations to future sessions. Additional information and recordings of select talks are available at utmb.edu/createneo/outreach.
2023-4 Series | |
September 12 | M. Kariuki Njenga (Washington State University and CREID-ECA, Kenya): “Spreading clusters of Rift Valley fever disease associated with climate variations in East Africa” |
October 10 | Esper G. Kallas (Universidade de São Paulo and Instituto Butantan, Brazil): “The Butantan Institute and the dengue vaccine development” |
November 14 | Anne Fagre (Colorado State University Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, US): “Of Bats and Bugs: An integrated approach to biosurveillance of vector-borne pathogens” |
December 12 | Steven Whitehead (National Institutes of Health, US): “Can live vaccines for dengue virus still be the answer?” |
January 9 | Sujatha Sunil (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, India) |
February 13 | Tineke Cantaert (Institut Pasteur du Cambodge and PICREID, Cambodia) |
March 12 | Samantha Sampson (Stellenbosch University, South Africa) |
April 9 | Lyle Petersen (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US) |
May 14 | Nathan Grubaugh (Yale University, US) |
June 11 | Marta Giovanetti (FIOCRUZ, UCBM, and UWARN, Brazil/Italy) |
July 9 | Rafael Kroon Campos (UTMB, US) |
August 13 | Scott Weaver (UTMB and WAC-EID, US) |
celebrating excellence
Dr. Marcus Lacerda receives Brazil’s National Order of Scientific Merit
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva presents Dr. Marcus Lacerda with the National Order of Scientific Merit (Photo: Ricardo Stuckart/PR)
Dr. Marcus Vinícius Guimarães de Lacerda, MD, PhD has had an extraordinary impact on public health. He recently served as principal investigator for CREATE-NEO’s work in Manaus, Brazil. In 2020, Dr. Lacerda led the first study generating substantive scientific evidence that chloroquinone was ineffective in treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19, as well as toxic. In April of that year – mere weeks since the World Health Organization had declared a global pandemic – Dr. Lacerda and his team published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Shortly after, the US National Institutes of Health issued an alert to clinicians to halt use of the drug.
On July 7 Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva awarded Dr. Lacerda the National Order of Scientific Merit. The honor follows hardship faced by Dr. Lacerda and other members of the scientific community. He gratefully recognized his research collaborators and the organizations supporting them.
CREATE-NEO researchers recognized by the American Committee on Arthropod-borne Viruses and Zoonotic Viruses
The American Committee on Arthropod-borne Viruses and Zoonotic Viruses (ACAV) is the largest international organization of scientific experts aimed at reducing the global burden of arboviruses and zoonotic viruses of global importance. ACAV is a committee of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH). The committee generates and shares scientific evidence, informs health and science policy, forms biosafety standards, promotes career development in virology, and recognizes excellence in arbovirus and zoonotic virus research.
ACAV recognized CREATE-NEO investigators and trainees in October 2023:
- Dr. Nikos Vasilakis was awarded the prestigious Dalrymple-Young Award for investigators who have made outstanding contributions to arbovirology. The award is made every three years, and was presented by Dr. Kathryn Hanley, herself a past recipient.
- Dr. Kristin Sloyer, PhD received the Robert E. Shope International Fellowship in Infectious Diseases to support her research on “Islands in the Stream: Impact of flood-induced landscape changes on mosquito community composition in the Brazilian Pantanal, with implications for arbovirus transmission.”
- Dr. Hélène Cecilia, PhD received an ACAV Travel Scholarship to support her participation in TropMed 2023.
In addition, Dr. Mauricio Nogueira was elected as Chair for the ACAV Executive Advisory Council and Dr. Shannan Rossi as its Chair-Elect.
Dr. Hélène Cecilia, PhD received an ACAV Travel Scholarship to support her participation in TropMed 2023; seen here presenting on “Investigating the potential of dengue and Zika virus to establish a sylvatic transmission cycle in the Neotropics through a modeling lens.”
in focus
MIT
Developing better diagnostics for dengue virus
Dr. Lee Gehrke
“We want to lower the cost of producing diagnostics to the point that they can be ready before an outbreak.”
Dr. Alfred Harding presenting at the CREID Network 2023 Annual Meeting
“There are lots of diagnostics for dengue virus, but they don’t work in [low resource] settings...It’s down to organizations like CREATE-NEO to do this work.”
Photo courtesy of the Gehrke Lab
2023 marks 80 years since dengue virus (DENV) was first isolated. In the centuries before and decades since it has sparked outbreaks in more than 100 countries. Cases have increased dramatically since 2010, particularly in the Americas. Yet high performing diagnostics that can be used in a variety of settings remain elusive.
Enter Lee Gehrke, PhD, a renowned scientist based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and CREATE-NEO investigator. Dr. Gehrke wants “to lower the cost of producing diagnostics to the point that they can be ready before an outbreak.”
Dr. Gehrke’s interest in human responses to infectious diseases began early as a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University. He studied developmental genetics and human gross anatomy – the latter of which he still teaches to medical students in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program.
Over a storied career Dr. Gherke has led formative work to characterize RNA viruses and developed critical resources needed to investigate them. These include monoclonal antibodies directed at dengue and Zika virus antigens and organoids to model viral pathogenesis. He has partnered with engineers and materials scientists to design and build affordable diagnostics that can be used in low-resource settings.
Among Dr. Gehrke’s most rewarding experiences are collaborations with scientists and clinicians in Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Honduras, Mexico, and India. These relationships have both required and strengthened trust across international partners. As a result, his team “has a broader perspective on the scientific and societal issues facing communities where these viruses are endemic.”
Under the CREATE-NEO program Dr. Gehrke’s team is partnering with Drs. Kathy Hanley (New Mexico State University (NMSU)), Anayansi Valderrama (Gorgas Institute, Panama), Mauricio Nogueira and Lívia Sacchetto (FAMERP, Brazil), and Daniel Aguiar (Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT), Brazil) to evaluate a rapid point-of-care lateral flow assay for dengue virus. Researchers will assess the test’s ability to correctly identify DENV-positive and DENV-negative samples from mosquitoes and ticks collected in the field. The results will help inform whether and how the Gehrke lab refines the assay. These iterative evaluations will ensure that the test can perform well in diverse real-world situations.
One recent addition to the Gehrke crew is post-doctoral scholar Al Harding. After completing his studies at Duke University, Dr. Harding enthusiastically joined Dr. Gehrke’s quest for better viral diagnostics. “There are lots of diagnostics for dengue virus, but they don’t work in [low resource] settings. PCR testing exists but it can’t be run in the field. It’s down to organizations like CREATE-NEO to do this work.”
Dengue and related viruses present with headache, fever, and malaise – generic febrile symptoms attributable to an innumerable array of pathogens. However, the structural similarity across flaviviruses (including DENV) makes designing their effective diagnostics extremely challenging. With limited surveillance tools, the diversity of these viruses and prevalence of associated infections are unclear.
What is known, however, is that a subset of those who contract flaviviruses like dengue develop severe neurological or hemorrhagic symptoms. A portion of these cases progress to death.
Al Harding remains undaunted: “I love this kind of work.”
Lee Gehrke is the Hermann L.F. von Helmholtz Professor in MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Professor of Microbiology at Harvard Medical School. Learn more about the Gehrke lab at www.gehrkelab.org.
CARY INSTITUTE
Predicting arboviral spillover events
Dr.Barbara Han talks with fellow researchers at the CREID Network 2023 Annual Meeting
Dr. Adrian Castellanos (left) with Dr. Ben Atlhouse at the CREID Network 2023 Annual Meeting
“Field work is integral... It’s hard to understand rows of data if you don’t have a connection to how an animal behaves in its natural environment.”
“This program forms connections... It lets us work together, share resources, and build the infrastructure we need to keep going.”
“We have too much data and too little data.” This is just one predicament that Barbara Han, PhD and Adrian Castellanos, PhD are tackling with CREATE-NEO. They are based at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and possess a rare combination of skills.
Dr. Han is a disease ecologist with expertise in machine learning and behavioral ecology. Dr. Castellanos is a mammalogist and spatial analyst with expertise in data visualization and scripting. Together they are applying computational prowess to diverse data sets to project zoonotic transmission. Such events are the progenitors of emerging infectious disease outbreaks involving a panoply of pathogens, from SARS-CoV-2 to Ebola virus.
One of their recent efforts within CREATE-NEO will use the traits of organisms susceptible to arboviruses to inform surveillance activities in Panama and surrounding countries. Results are expected to iteratively improve both the detection of viruses like Chikungunya and Mayaro, and the models used to predict animal species that are important for understanding how they spillover into humans. This follows a proof-of-concept that incorporated information on SARS-CoV-2 protein structures with intrinsic biological and ecological traits of potential host species to project which species are most likely to contract and transmit infections.
Conceptual figure of iterative process using structural modeling and machine learning to predict spillover events and inform surveillance, courtesy of B. Han
Central to this work is the process of data mining. Researchers across the globe generate a massive quantity of potentially relevant data sets. These include not only quantitative information but images of animals and their habitats that may inform risks for infection. At the same time, the data required to answer a specific research question may be missing. This includes, for example, what types of animal hosts and insect vectors permeate periodic flood zones in the Neotropics and how their behaviors vary based on climatic and other conditions. Drs. Han and Castellanos work with CREATE-NEO field scientists collecting this data to hone predictions for when, where, and how pathogens may emerge in human populations.
CREATE-NEO provides a rich array of experts in field biology, entomology, and local ecology with whom Drs. Han and Castellanos collaborate. As Dr. Castellanos notes, “Field work is integral to the entire process. It’s hard to understand rows of data if you don’t have a connection to how an animal behaves in its natural environment. You have to look at them, see what they do, what they’re eating, what they interact with and when.”
The program has forged durable relationships that will see this work continue for years to come: “This program forms connections between all these different groups. It lets us work together, share resources, and build the infrastructure we need to keep going.”
Learn more about Dr. Han’s team and their work at hanlab.science.
IN PRINT
January-November 2023
CREATE-NEO investigators have produced more than 30 publications thus far in 2023, available through hyperlinked citations below.
Assato PA, Clemente LG, Giovanetti M, et al. Retrospective Insights of the COVID-19 Epidemic in the Major Latin American City, São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. Viruses. 2023;15(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v15020327
History of Arbovirology: Memories from the Field, Volumes I and II
To truly understand the evolution of a scientific discipline, narrative history must fill the spaces between journal articles and conference presentations. To this end, in 2023 Dr. Vasilakis and Dr. Laura Kramer, PhD published two volumes of History of Arbovirology: Memories from the Field. They include personal reflections from arboviral research leaders, a comprehensive historical analysis of the field and its contributors, and first-hand narratives of seminal studies and experiments. Chapters also discuss gender equality in arbovirology, how fields studies in Latin America have evolved, and the unorthodox routes by which several prominent arboviral researchers joined the profession.
In memoriam
Honoring the legacy of Mr. Nelson Ferreira Fé
Mr. Nelson Fé, ★1941 †2023
On April 2nd of 2023 the scientific community lost an invaluable contributor, beloved colleague, and impactful mentor. Over his decades of service, Mr. Nelson Fé developed the entomology laboratory for the Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Manaus into a globally recognized center of excellence. Both his extraordinary technical skills and character deeply impacted those with whom he worked.
CREATE-NEO was among the last scientific endeavors to benefit from Mr. Fé’s expertise and collegiality. He worked closely with former UTMB post-doctoral scholar Adam Hendy, PhD. Together they investigated potential arboviral vectors in the rainforest surrounding Manaus.
CREATE-NEO colleagues Drs. Lacerda and Hendy joined with Wuelton Monteiro, Marcus Vinitius de Farias Guerra, and Maria das Graças Vale Barbosa Guerra to pen a poignant tribute to Mr. Fé. We encourage all to learn more about his life and legacy.
acronyms and abbreviations
A2CARES | Asian-American Centers for Arbovirus Research and Enhanced Surveillance |
ASTMH | American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene |
CREATE-NEO | Collaborating for Research on Emerging Arboviral Threats Across the Neotropics |
CREID | Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases |
DENV | Dengue Virus |
EpiCenter | EpiCenter for Disease Dynamics |
FAMERP | Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto |
IRRESEF | Institut de Recherche en Santé de Surveillance Epidemiologique et de Formation |
Gorgas Institute | Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud |
MEDTROP | Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine |
MIT | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
NIAID | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases |
NIH | National Institutes of Health |
NMSU | New Mexico State University |
PICREID | Pasteur International Center for Research on Emerging Infectious Diseases |
SBV | Sociedade Brasileira de Virologia |
TropMed | Annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene |
UC Davis | University of California at Davis |
UFMG | Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais |
UFMT | Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso |
UTMB | University of Texas Medical Branch |
UWARN | United World Antiviral Research Network |
WAC-EID | West African Center for Research on Emerging Infectious Diseases |
acknowledgements
Thank you to CREATE-NEO partners and collaborators whose activities and accomplishments are described within.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the US National Institutes of Health under award number U01AI151807. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
