Medical entomologist Anthony "Anton" Cornel, associate professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, and director of the UC Mosquito Research Laboratory at the Kearney Agricultural Center, Parlier, has been named associate director of the UC Davis Center for Vectorborne Diseases, also known as CVEC.

CVEC director and UC Davis entomology professor Greg Lanzaro, who also directs the UC Mosquito Research Program, said he is pleased to have Cornel on board.

"Dr. Cornel has a wide range of experience in the field of medical entomology," Lanzaro said. "His recent work includes insecticide resistance in ticks in Mexico and in vectors of West Nile virus in California, as well as work on the genetics of malaria vectors in Africa.

"I have had the pleasure of working closely with Anton and we have spent considerable time together working at field sites in west and central Africa. His assistance in the development of programs within the center will be invaluable and I look forward to working with him in this endeavor."

Cornel's main research centers on the population genetics and ecology of West Nile virus vectors in the United States and population genetics and ecology of major malaria vectors in Africa. Both he and Lanzaro have conducted field work in Africa for more than two decades.

A native of South Africa, Cornel received his doctorate in entomology, focusing on mosquito systematics, in 1993 from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Entomology Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, before joining UC Davis in 1997 as an assistant professor and researcher.

CVEC, considered the most comprehensive vectorborne disease program in California, collaborates with more than 30 faculty members on UC campuses. Research programs include molecular biology, virology, parasitology, vector control, and epidemiology of vectorborne diseases.

CVEC is both interdisciplinary and global, Lanzaro said. It encompasses biological, medical, veterinary and social sciences. Globally, the major emphasis is on research and education involving diseases such as malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis in the developing world.

In addition, the center serves as the principal teaching resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in all facets of vector-borne disease sciences.

CVEC, a unit of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, is managed in collaboration with the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the UC Davis School of Medicine. It is closely affiliated with the UC Mosquito Research Program, a systemwide program of the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Lanzaro is headquartered in 396 Briggs, Department of Entomology. The CVEC Web site is at www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/cvec/about.html, and the UC Mosquito Research Program at www.ucmrp.ucdavis.edu.

Cornel photo available at http://www.ucmrp.ucdavis.edu/news/index.html