World Mosquito Day raises awareness of the significant impact of mosquitoes on public health and emphasises the importance of research and innovation in preventing mosquito-borne diseases.
20 August commemorates the discovery made in 1897 by the British physician Sir Ronald Ross, who demonstrated the role of female Anopheles mosquitoes in transmitting malaria. This breakthrough laid the foundations for modern malaria and vector research.
More than a century later, mosquitoes remain among the world’s most important disease vectors, transmitting malaria, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika and several forms of encephalitis. Their ability to adapt to changing environments, combined with the emergence of insecticide resistance, continues to challenge existing vector-control strategies.
At the GHTM R&D Unit | Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (IHMT NOVA), researchers are addressing these challenges by studying mosquito biology, ecology and mosquito–pathogen interactions, while developing new approaches to improve disease prevention and control.
Turning mosquito biology into a target for vector control
Among these efforts is the research led by Joana Marques, whose work focuses on understanding and manipulating mosquito physiology to identify new opportunities for vector control.
Her research uses BLOODless, a blood-free artificial diet for mosquitoes developed at GHTM, as an experimental platform to investigate mosquito biology. By allowing malaria mosquitoes to be reared without vertebrate blood, BLOODless provides a more sustainable and accessible approach for studying mosquito physiology and pathogen transmission.
Building on this innovation, Joana Marques is investigating how cholesterol metabolism influences mosquito reproduction and the development of malaria parasites within the mosquito. By exploring ways to manipulate this metabolic pathway, her research aims to determine whether the mosquito’s own biology can become a target for innovative and sustainable tools to reduce malaria transmission.
This research illustrates how understanding the fundamental biology of mosquitoes can open new avenues for vector control, complementing existing interventions and potentially contributing to approaches that are less dependent on conventional insecticides.
Could the Key to Eliminating Malaria Lie Within Mosquitoes?
What if the solution to eliminating malaria could be found in the mosquitoes themselves?This question is at the heart of research led by João Pinto, within the framework of the UC Irvine Malaria Initiative (UCIMI), a global research partnership in which GHTM | IHMT NOVA is a collaborating institution.
Based in São Tomé and Príncipe, where malaria remains endemic, the project combines field and laboratory research to better understand mosquito vectors and their role in malaria transmission. The research focuses on several aspects of mosquito biology and ecology, including feeding preferences, insecticide resistance and population dynamics.
Understanding these characteristics is essential for identifying how mosquito populations interact with their environment and how they contribute to malaria transmission. The knowledge generated through this work can help inform the design and implementation of more effective and targeted malaria-control strategies.
The initiative goes beyond research alone. A key component of the project is strengthening local scientific and technical capacity through the development of molecular biology infrastructure and the delivery of technical and advanced training. Students and healthcare professionals are being trained in areas including medical entomology, vector surveillance and PCR techniques, strengthening the capacity to conduct and sustain vector-borne disease research locally.
Community engagement is also central to the initiative. Working with communities helps support the implementation and acceptance of innovative vector-control approaches, recognising that sustainable malaria elimination depends not only on scientific advances but also on locally informed and supported interventions.
By combining field research, laboratory science, capacity building and community engagement, the project contributes to a comprehensive approach to malaria control and elimination, while strengthening the scientific capacity needed to address the disease in the long term.
The research is now featured in a new documentary, premiering on 6 July, offering an inside look at the science, partnerships and people working towards a malaria-free future.
▶️ Watch the documentary here
Understanding the Environmental Drivers of Vector-Borne Diseases
Mosquitoes are not the only vectors whose distribution and disease-transmission potential can be influenced by environmental and climatic changes. At GHTM, researchers are also investigating how environmental factors shape the emergence and transmission of other vector-borne diseases.
This is the focus of research led by Carla Maia within PLANET4HEALTH, a Horizon Europe project bringing together expertise from environmental and climate sciences, public health, epidemiology, veterinary medicine and other disciplines to understand how environmental change affects human, animal and ecosystem health.
As part of the project’s case study on vector-borne diseases in the Iberian Peninsula, Carla Maia and her team are investigating the climatic and environmental drivers of canine leishmaniasis, a vector-borne zoonotic disease transmitted by sandflies. The research aims to improve understanding of how environmental conditions influence disease risk and to support the development of comprehensive prevention and preparedness strategies.
A key objective is to integrate epidemiological and environmental information to identify areas and conditions associated with increased disease risk. The project is also working towards innovative tools, including an early warning system for vector-borne diseases, which can support surveillance, preparedness and evidence-based decision-making.
The work reflects the One Health approach, recognising that human health, animal health and environmental health are closely interconnected. By bringing together data and expertise across disciplines, PLANET4HEALTH seeks to translate scientific knowledge into practical tools and policies that can strengthen prevention and adaptation to changing environmental and climatic conditions.
Through Carla Maia’s contribution to PLANET4HEALTH, GHTM is helping to advance understanding of how climate and environmental change may reshape the risks posed by vector-borne diseases — and how interdisciplinary research can help communities prepare for these challenges.
From mosquito research to global health solutions
The work of Joana Marques, João Pinto and Carla Maia reflects the breadth of vector-borne disease research being carried out at GHTM — from understanding the molecular mechanisms that shape mosquito reproduction and malaria parasite development, to studying mosquito populations in endemic settings and investigating how environmental and climatic changes influence vector-borne disease risk.
These complementary approaches highlight the importance of combining fundamental research, field-based surveillance, technological innovation, capacity building and interdisciplinary collaboration to address the complex challenges posed by malaria and other vector-borne diseases.
On World Mosquito Day, GHTM highlights this multidisciplinary research as part of a broader effort to transform knowledge about vectors, pathogens and their environments into practical solutions for disease prevention and control.
By studying vectors not only as transmitters of disease, but also as complex biological systems shaped by ecological, climatic and environmental factors, GHTM researchers are advancing knowledge and developing innovative approaches to prevent and control vector-borne diseases, contributing to a healthier and more sustainable future.
