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Andrew Lover, associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, recently appeared as a panelist on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) webinar series on arboviral disease, “Meeting the Moment: Practical Solutions for Arboviral Disease Prevention and Response.”

The series of four webinars, which were held from late January to early March, focuses on lessons learned and practical next steps to prevent, detect and mitigate the spread of arboviral diseases, or viruses spread by insects, in community settings. The series convenes researchers, practitioners, policymakers, state and local health authorities, and community-based organizations to examine emerging risks and response strategies.

In the U.S., several factors are coming together to create new challenges in preventing diseases spread by biting insects, including mosquitos and ticks. Challenges include more frequent outbreaks of arboviruses, emerging and reemerging diseases, geographic expansion of where insects are present, shifts in human behavior and how people understand risk. Together, these trends highlight the need for coordinated efforts to address both current and future arboviral disease threats.

Lover appeared as a panelist in the first webinar in the series, titled “Behavior, Beliefs, and Bugs: Protecting Communities From Arboviral Diseases.” The webinar, which can e viewed below, highlighted interdisciplinary disease control interventions with a focus on social science applications. Discussions focused on cultural considerations, community perspectives, communication strategies, and approaches for integrating public perspectives into the design of arboviral disease intervention to deliver locally acceptable and sustainable interventions.
 

Lover’s research covers a broad range of vector-borne disease, including surveillance and forecasting; malaria; and the design, implementation, and analysis of complex epidemiological studies, both in Western Massachusetts and globally, including Vietnam, Lao PDR, Timor-Leste and Cambodia. He is also the deputy director of the CDC-funded New England Center of Excellence in Vector-borne Disease. His research over the past 10 years has been directed towards the design, implementation, and analysis of epidemiological studies and subsequent policies that address where slippages in both community- and individual-level public health programming occur, and ways to address these gaps through improved programing or novel interventions.

More information about the series, including videos for each webinar, can be found on the NASEM website.