Dr. Jemal Mohammed-Awel, VSU Professor of Mathematics, was recently awarded a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation for his proposal “Collaborative Research: Genetic-epidemiology framework for malaria mosquito and disease.”  The project, using mathematics modeling approaches and experimental and field data, will assess the impact of insecticide resistance on malaria mosquitos and the effectiveness of vector control tools impacting malaria transmission intensity in a malaria-endemic area.  Contributing to the current global efforts in eradicating malaria, the developed modeling framework can be adapted and used world-wide to study the transmission dynamics and control of other mosquito-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue fever, West Nile virus, yellow fever, and Zika virus in areas experiencing outbreaks.        

Dr. Mohammed-Awel’s research interests focus on mathematics biology, applied mathematics, and analysis. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has been employed by VSU since 2006.