IVCC’s External Scientific Advisory Committee (ESAC) welcomes two new experts, Dr Anne Wilson and Dr Ulrike Fillinger. They join following a ‘call for experts’ in experts in entomology and in epidemiology.

The ESAC provides expert specialist technical assessments of IVCC’s portfolio of products, including project selection, transition, and termination. They provide advice to the IVCC management team during periodic reviews of the projects. Membership of the ESAC is through nomination of candidates with the required expertise.

Dr Anne Wilson has an MSc in Public Health and a PhD in epidemiology from Durham University. Anne uses epidemiological study designs such as cohort studies, case control studies, and cluster-randomised controlled trials to understand the risk of vector-borne diseases and develop novel vector control methods. In particular, she is interested in the impact of anthropogenic changes such as urbanisation and agricultural intensification on vector-borne disease transmission, and the development of targeted, multi-sectoral control approaches.

Dr Ulrike Fillinger brings 25 years experience managing projects related to the control and elimination of arthropod-borne diseases, collaborating closely with national disease control programs and other government and civil society stakeholders in endemic countries. Ulrike holds a PhD in Ecology from the University of Heidelberg and did my post doctorate training in East Africa successively for Durham University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

More details on the role and responsibilities of ESAC members, visit ivcc.com/research-development/esacs/

Under the conference theme, ‘Working in Partnership to Deliver Vector Control Solutions’, IVCC hosted its first stakeholder conference in four years. It took place in IVCC’s hometown of Liverpool on 3^rd and 4^th October.  IVCC welcomed 130 guests from across our stakeholders and partners to the day and a half long conference at Liverpool’s St George’s Hall.

IVCC was delighted to host Damaris Matoke-Muhia, Principal Research Scientist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and Chair of the PAMCA Women in Vector Control Programme, as the keynote speaker. During her presentation Damaris outlined some of the key challenges facing malaria elimination and eradication as we approach 2030: insecticide resistance, climate change, increased outdoor biting and the rise of invasive species. Damaris called for continued innovation of vector control tools, as current interventions alone won’t deliver on the WHO’s target for reducing global malaria incidence and mortality rates by at least 90%. At the same time, Damaris highlighted the importance of developing tools with endemic communities in mind. Too often, the usability of interventions isn’t sufficiently considered, meaning communities find the tools too hard to use, take care of and not fit for their living conditions. In her closing remarks, Damaris emphasised that malaria elimination targets will not be met unless there is leadership that represents pluralism within society. In addition, she encouraged the malaria community to consider an approach of multidisciplinary and capacity sharing – which more overtly recognizes the contribution of all collaborators learning from one another – when tackling the challenges that lie ahead. (A recording of Damaris’ presentation can be found here).

IVCC’s programme for the day was filled with a series of panel discussions and presentations from a range of distinguished guests drawn from all corners of the malaria community, including funders, industry, academia and regulators.  As well as valuable networking time, attendees were also able to view an extensive scientific poster programme.

On day one of the conference, attendees were also invited to a very special conference dinner at St George’s iconic Great Hall. The Hall provided a stunning, historic backdrop to an evening of networking over dinner whilst guests were treated to an organ performance by City and Cathedral Organist, Ian Tracey.

The second day of the event also included a panel discussion and two session, one focused on equity, diversity and inclusion in vector control product development.  A series of inspiring and thought-provoking sessions ensured that key challenges were discussed and debated, while key achievements were also appropriately recognised.  IVCC would like to thank all participants for making our Stakeholder conference a highly engaging and successful event.

IVCC is excited to share the news that two more of our collaborating trials facilities in Africa have been granted Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) certification by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS): the Institut Pierre Richet Vector Control Product Evaluation Centre (IPR VCPEC) in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire; and the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) Amani Research Centre in Muheza, Tanzania.

IVCC has supported both facilities towards GLP certification with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, including support for infrastructure improvements required for GLP compliance.

The NIMR Amani Test Facility is now the first Public Test Facility in the East African region to achieve GLP certification for vector control product evaluations.

Dr William Kisinza, Director & Chief Research Scientist at the NIMR Amani Research Centre, also said: “The work required for GLP certification wasn’t an easy process.  As a team, we have worked hard over the past seven years and are very proud of this achievement.  We are also grateful for the support and guidance provided by IVCC through this process. Our team at NIMR is very proud of being part of a larger network of collaborating trial facilities in Africa that can generate testing data on vector control products of the highest standard

NIMR Amani Research Centre has state-of-the-art laboratories and other research facilities for laboratory and semi-field trials on various vector control tools, including insecticides and insecticide-treated fabrics, used in the control of disease vectors.  The Centre currently operates 13 suites of experimental huts and 2 platforms for semi-field trials. Other experimental facilities include a set of three large semi-field structures (Mosquito Spheres), animal houses, a set of insectaries, an Insecticides Testing Facility (ITF), Molecular biology Laboratory, General/Parasitology Laboratories and Data Management and information and communications technology (ICT) Units. The Centre has conducted several community-based randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on major health interventions including long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) trials.

Dr Raphael N’Guessan, Head of the IPR VCPEC facility, said: “We are very happy, after so much work, to have achieved our GLP certification. We are very grateful to IVCC for its support, and especially to Alex Wright who pushed and assisted us in every way”.

IPR’s research focuses on vector-borne diseases and neglected tropical diseases. VCPEC was established as a unit within IPR to evaluate the efficacy of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and other vector control tools. VCPEC has been involved in a project to evaluate a novel house-based malaria vector control intervention called the ‘eave tube’, which combines modifications to make a house more ‘mosquito-proof’ with an innovative way of delivering insecticidal active ingredients. Eave tubes, in combination with screening of windows and doors, were found to reduce malaria transmission in a community-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in central Côte d’Ivoire between 2016 and 2019. We look forward to working with the companies to deliver high quality data on the efficacy of novel vector control products in line with the WHO pre-qualification requirements”.

Pictured are the main IPR VCPEC building, which houses insecticide spraying, insecticide testing rooms and molecular biology rooms, and the molecular biology and insecticide testing buildings at NIMR Amani Research Centre.