UNLV Paravec

Katie Major, MPH

PARAVEC’S Katie Major defended and passed her thesis this morning! Visit our website for more information about her project

“The Development of Environmental DNA (EDNA) Sampling for Arbovirus Vector Surveillance in Southern Nevada”

PARAVEC’s Dr. Louisa Messenger just returned to Las Vegas after weeks of traveling and spreading the word about malaria control! She presented at the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Society 8th Pan-African Malaria Conference in Kigali-Rwanda and attended the 6th Workshop on Convergence and Culture in Well-Being in the Built Environment in Qatar!

The PARAVEC Lab represented Parasitology and Medical Entomology at ‘Ologist Night hosted by the Las Vegas Natural History Museum on Monday 4/29. We always love the opportunity to talk to eager future scientists and spread awareness of bugs and communicable diseases local to Vegas and abroad!

Today is ! PARAVEC’s Dr. Richard Oxborough has spent the past 15 years working to better understand and strengthen malaria vector control worldwide. He provided the following insight into threats against malaria control today.

Pyrethroid resistance and a lack of alternative insecticides for insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) is a major threat to progress towards key malaria goals. Chlorfenapyr is the only proven alternative insecticide for ITNs. There is a huge risk of overreliance on chlorfenapyr, with pyrethroid-PBO synergist nets already becoming unviable in several locations due to rapidly evolving resistance and short residual duration. More investment is urgently needed in ITN insecticide development, regulation to avoid distribution of sub-standard ITN products, improved fabric durability and strategies to improve sustained coverage.

Together, we can be the generation to beat malaria!

Congratulations to PARAVEC’s Miklo Alcala who defended his prospectus yesterday!🐕🔬

Congratulations to PARAVEC's Katie Major for defending her prospectus this morning!

That’s a wrap for day one of the 2024 #BeatMalaria Leadership Summit! What an inspiring day - check out our Stories for some highlights. And tune in tomorrow for a day full of energizing programs and hill day prep.

Meet Miklo Alcala! He is an MPH student working on the Urban Dog Park study concerning canine parasites in Clark County. The goal of the project is to assess what types and kinds of dog parasites exist in the valley and to inform local veterinarians and health institutions on possible transmission, preventative measures, and spread awareness to communities about zoonotic diseases. He is currently collecting samples in different dog parks and analyzing them using a plethora of methods in the lab. He hopes to defend his thesis at the end of the Spring 2024 semester. Miklo is also a Recruitment Coordinator in the UNLV School of Public Health. He has other research interests that include Filipino communities, minority populations, and health behaviors. Stay tuned for updates!

Meet Katie Major! She is the MPH student running our mosquito eDNA project. The purpose of this project is to detect fragments of mosquito DNA that may be present in different water sources around the city. Katie spent all summer collecting water samples around the Las Vegas area and she is currently in the process of analyzing those samples here in our lab. She plans to present the final results as a part of her thesis presentation in May. Stay turned for more updates about Katies project🦟🦟🔬

Meet the team! PARAVEC is happy to introduce our UNLV members and collaborators around the world:
Dr. Chad Cross and Dr. Louisa Messenger
Dr. Richard Oxborough
Karen Lorena Figueroa Chilito
Katherine Major
Miklo Alcala
Joseth Espinoza
Jackline Martin
Bethanie Pelloquin
Evan Teal
Zoee Sanchez
Angelica Avisado (not pictured)
Wondemeneh Mekuriaw (not pictured)
Steven Dai (not pictured)
Visit our website for more information about all of our members and the projects we're working on!
https://paravec.sites.unlv.edu/

Happy first day of 2024 spring semester at UNLV from the PARAVEC Lab! Stay tuned for updates on all the projects and activities we have going on this semester🦟🐕🔬