Tackling insecticide resistance in the major African malaria vector Anopheles funestus: developing new molecular diagnostic tools, understanding the evolution of resistance and its impact on control interventions

Insecticide based control interventions are critical for malaria prevention. However, insecticide resistance in malaria vectors threatens the continued effectiveness of these tools. To help manage such resistance, Charles’s research aims at understanding its molecular and genetic bases by detecting molecular resistance markers using genomic tools and designing suitable molecular assays to track resistance in natural populations. He is also defining patterns of gene flow and selective sweeps in populations of malaria vectors to predict the evolution and spread of resistance and is assessing the fitness cost of resistance and its impact on control interventions using experimental hut trials in Africa.