The IRD is a French research organization that, together with its southern partners, addresses international development issues. IRD endeavours to meet major development challenges by undertaking research, training, and innovation activities in low middle income countries (LMICs), with an on-going focus on sharing knowledge and pooling resources and skills. IRD works in more than 50 countries in Africa, around the Mediterranean, in Asia, Latin America and overseas IRD includes 2,221 staff (835 researchers) and is involved in 56 research consortiums. IRD provides support to the South by proving financial support to 42 young research teams and 200 annual grants for students and scientist from LMICS.

Among the IRD-Health department, the MIVEGEC research unit (UM-IRD-CNRS) is centered on infectious diseases and their transmission with main interest on the biology of pathogens, their hosts and their vectors. The MIVEGEC unit creates a force of research, expertise, and training comprising approximately 120 scientists, in the study of infectious diseases and their vectors. IRD-MIVEGEC has established collaborations with the members of the consortium workshops on vectors of human diseases. IRD hosts the WHO collaborating center (WHO CC) for testing new public health pesticides.

Dr. V Corbel, the PI of this application, is Research Professor at IRD and adjunct professor at the Department of Entomology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. He has longstanding research experience on vectors of human diseases and their control. He published 100 papers on related topics (H-index>25) and has led (or participated to) 20 research and training programs on vector control and insecticide resistance in French oversea departments, Africa and South East Asia. He is a member of the working group of the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme since 2004 and is a member of the RBM Vector Control Group since 2008. Dr Corbel organized in 2010 an international symposium on Malaria and Human African Trypanosomiasis at Cotonou, Benin including >300 participants from 30 nationalities. Dr. Corbel is now based in Montpellier (France) after 4 years in Thailand where he was leading a Thai ( KU) – French (IRD) joint research team (STOPVEC) at the Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University. Dr Corbel was also leading a regional network for testing and evaluation of public Health insecticides with the support of the WHOPES.

Dr Corbel will work closely with Dr Fabrice Chandre within the IRD research Unit MIVEGEC. Dr Chandre is a medical entomologist with a strong expertise in vector control and genetics of insecticide resistance. He has spent 10 years in Africa exploring insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors. He is leading the WHO reference center for the evaluation of pesticides in public health. He is the director of the French National Center for Expertise on Vectors (CNEV) and a member of the French High Council of Public Health. He has published over 140 articles related to insecticide resistance, genetics and control of vectors.