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Name: Luciano A. Moreira
Organization: Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil
Role: Senior Researcher
Nationality and main countries worked: Brazilian; worked in Brazil, The Netherlands, United States and Australia
Why is pest management an important aspect of applied ecology?
The pest that I work on, mosquitoes, cause enormous suffering for many people throughout the world. Some of the diseases that they can vector are fatal and finding new ways to deal with them has never been more pressing. Insecticides have proved useful in many cases but the evolution of insecticide resistance and the harmful effects of many of these chemicals in the environment mean that we need to think about different approaches. Understanding the ecology of the pest you are dealing with gives you the opportunity to develop novel ways to manage them.
What is your day-to-day job?
I have a group of more than twenty people in the city of Belo Horizonte that includes Postdocs, Graduate Students, Undergraduates and Technicians. I also have a team of more than 45 people in Rio de Janeiro where I coordinate the Eliminate Dengue Project: Brazil Challenge. I manage these teams and coordinate their research efforts. Keeping track of some many people and keeping up-to-date with their work requires me to attend a great many meetings!
What are your most interesting recent projects and why?
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease that causes sudden fever and acute joint pain. In some causes it can cause life-threatening complications. I am the lead Scientist of The Eliminate Dengue Project (ED), which intends to release Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in urban settings. These mosquitoes will have been infected with a commonly found bacterium called Wolbachia. The presence of Wolbachia appears to prevent the dengue virus from replicating in the mosquito and prevents its transmission.
When male mosquitoes with Wolbachia mate with females without Wolbachia, those females will lay eggs but they won’t hatch. When males with Wolbachia mate with females that are already carrying Wolbachia then all the offspring will have Wolbachia, which is also what happens when females with Wolbachia mate with males without. Releasing a limited number of mosquitoes with Wolbachia to breed with wild mosquitoes means that over a small number of generations all the mosquitoes will have Wolbachia. In such a population, the dengue virus will no longer be transmitted and dengue fever will be eliminated.
When Wolbachia is present the mosquito does not transmit other diseases like chikungunya and zika. With zika on the increase we urgently need to find ways to combat its spread and Wolbachia-infection may prove to be a valuable approach.
What's been best part of these particular projects?
This best part of being involved with ED is very simple - I am involved in a project that has the clear potential to save many lives. Also, I find dealing with large multidisciplinary teams where each group has a completely different way of thinking both challenging and enjoyable. It is also very rewarding to work directly with communities and to get their support in making a difference.
What are the main challenges in your field and how can they be overcome?
Aedes aegypti is an introduced species in Brazil but once it was here it found great conditions to survive. It has subsequently spread all over the country. The large-scale use of insecticides has made it a great challenge to control this species and, with the recent outbreak of other viruses, like Chikingunya and Zika, the problem has just become worse. Undoubtedly the biggest challenge we face in the field of mosquito pest management is finding ways to control this species (and others) reduce or eliminate the transmission of diseases to humans.
What next for you, and why?
I will be expanding the Eliminate Dengue project to a big city and evaluating the impact of this approaching in reducing mosquito-borne diseases in general and dengue fever in particular.
Finally, how did you get into your area of work and what advice would to others?
I was fortunate to work in different institutions in different countries and my advice would be not to be afraid of changing your direction, being flexible and working on different subjects. This, in the end, will broaden your way of thinking and make you a better ecologist.