Dina M Fonseca

Molecular ecologist examining how populations of invasive species change upon arrival and as they expand, in the case of disease vectors profoundly affect epidemiological landscapes and risk estimates. Strong extension program working with professional mosquito control programs using vector biology, ecology and evolution to develop effective and efficient strategies for control. Spearheaded urban mosquito control by residents through Citizen Action Through Science (Citizen AcTS): http://vectorbio.rutgers.edu/CitizenAcTS.htm. Founding member of the Worldwide Insecticide resistance Network (WIN): https://win-network.ird.fr/ and founding member of InSITe (Innovative Strategies for Invasives Team) using environmental DNA (eDNA) and risk analysis to detect and contain invasive species https://www.insiteru.org.

Summary of education and employment: Teaching degree in English, Cambridge University. B.S. in Biology and Geology from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, M.S. in Biology from Central Michigan University MI, Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Smithsonian Fellow at the National Zoo Institute for Conservation and Biodiversity. Then NRC Associate at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Research geneticist at the Smithsonian Institution where she is still a Research Associate, then Assistant Curator at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Joined Rutgers University in 2007 as an Associate Professor. Became tenured in 2010 and Full Professor in 2014. Teaches courses in Medical and Veterinary Entomology and Molecular Methods in Entomology, Ecology and Epidemiology. Became the Interim Director of the Center for Vector Biology (CVB) in October 2016 and the CVB Director in July 2017.

I am fluent in Portuguese and English, speak and read Spanish and French. Conversational in Italian and Catalan.

November 2018