Luis Fernando Chaves

Vector Ecology and Environment　Assiatant Professor

Mathematical Biology, Biometry and Climate Change

Modeling the ecology and control of vectors and the diseases they transmit. Emphasis on Leishmaniasis, Malaria and Chagas disease under climate change.

Modeling is a critical tool to render clear and understandable what is otherwise conceived as obscure and inapprehensible in nature. Mathematical analysis of equations describing natural processes together with simulations of simple to complex scenarios allow to formally articulate the mechanism of biological processes that go from the interaction of molecules to the interaction between organisms and the environment. Biometry is the tool bridging the gap between observations from nature and mathematical models through parameter estimation. Biometry also allows to judge what is similar or different, what changes in opposite (but also independent or concerted) ways or how much to believe things. Both mathematical modeling and biometry, i.e., quantitative methods, are highly successful to solve problems in Tropical Medicine when used/developed in conjunction with the ability to observe and intervene systems in ways where comprehensive information can be compiled, a major strength of the work from the Vector Ecology and Environment Department since the foundation of NEKKEN. Thus, in the Department of Vector Ecology and Environment we welcome students willing to contribute to the solution of problems in Tropical Medicine through the use quantitative methods (mathematical/biometrical/ but also including the collection of data) to understand how do vectors of disease interact with: (i) Each other [Why do vector abundance fluctuates?, how is this related to climatic patterns, in the long and medium term, but also to more rapid weather fluctuations?], (ii) Other species [looking at vectors as bloodsucking organisms that transmit diseases to humans and animals, but more generally as players of a larger ecosystem in which they consume, or are consumed by, other organisms], (iii) The environment [What is climate change doing to vectors and the diseases they transmit?, Why sometimes vector control fails/succeds?].