Dawn Wesson's background in medical/molecular entomology and vector biology has led to her role as a principal investigator on many research projects on vector-borne pathogens (particularly dengue, West Nile, and Chagas disease), and as an instructor of graduate and undergraduate courses on vector biology and ecology in the Department of Tropical Medicine at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Patricia Scaraffia earned her Ph.D from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. She has expertise in insect metabolism, specifically in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, vectors of dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and Zika virus. Her research interests include medical entomology, vector control, parasitology, and development, optimization and application of mass spectrometry techniques. Her laboratory uses traditional and cutting-edge approaches, including RNA interference, isotopically-labeled compounds and mass spectrometry.
Preston A. Marx is a career virologist with over 250 research publications and 45 years of experience, including 35 years in research on AIDS vaccines, vaginal microbicides, anti-retrovirals, AIDS pathogenesis in non-human primate animal models and origins of epidemic forms HIV in Africa. He teaches an undergraduate course on emerging diseases from zoonotic sources, plus tropical virology lectures at the graduate level. In 2010 his research on the origins of HIV in Africa was recognized by Discover magazine as #20 of the top scientific discoveries of that year.
Joseph Keating is an epidemiologist with a focus on vector-borne disease. His current research focuses on malaria epidemiology and control in the context of elimination. Keating has served as a consultant for the World Bank; USAID; and the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He currently serves as a reviewer for the Military Infectious Disease Research Program and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.
Claudia Herrera is a microbiologist with expertise in several specific areas including immunology, molecular biology and molecular epidemiology, molecular genetics and phylogenetics of parasites. She has more than 15 years of experience in serological diagnosis and molecular parasitology.
Dr. Thom Eisele has a joint appointment as a Professor in the Departments of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, and International Health and Sustainable Development, and is the Director of the Center for Applied Malaria Research and Evaluation (/sph.tulane.edu/camre). Areas of expertise include malaria epidemiology, evaluating the impact of malaria control/elimination strategies, and measurement of malaria intervention coverage and malaria health outcomes.
Eric Dumonteil's primary research interest is in the development of new control tools for Chagas disease and other neglected tropical diseases. These include research on vector ecology and vector control interventions, epidemiological studies and pre-clinical evaluation of therapeutic and preventive vaccines. He received a MSc in endocrinology from the University of Lyon, France, and a PhD in biochemistry and biophysics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ruth Ashton is an infectious disease epidemiologist. Her background is in implementation research, focusing on generating evidence or designing field-ready tools to support effective decision making by local and national disease control program staff. Dr Ashton’s current research includes a cluster randomized trial of a new malaria vector control intervention, impact evaluation design strategies incorporating routine data sources, and use of "easy access groups" such as school children for monitoring and evaluation of malaria elimination programs.
Janna Wisniewski focuses her research on health system strengthening in fragile and post-conflict settings, and on the ways in which the health system contributes to health disparities. Her current work includes an evaluation of a large health system strengthening program in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a field experiment on disparities in access to medical appointments in the United States. In addition, she teaches courses in comparative health systems and an introduction to health management and policy. Dr.
Dr. Stranova received his doctor of science (ScD) and his master of health administration (MHA) degrees from Tulane University and his undergraduate degree from Tufts University, where he majored in history while also earning a certificate in community health. Prior to joining the Tulane faculty, Dr. Stranova held leadership positions with New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System and Tulane University Hospital & Clinic. Dr.
