My independent research explores mosquito-borne diseases and their impact on human health, with a particular focus on awareness, prevention, and recovery.

My current work is centered on dengue and is expanding across other major mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever, and West Nile virus.

I am particularly interested in translating scientific and clinical knowledge into information that people can understand and use—especially those who travel between regions where mosquito-borne diseases are uncommon and regions where they are endemic or emerging.

My research interests include:

• mosquito-borne disease awareness and prevention;
• dengue infection and recovery;
• post-infectious and longer-term health effects;
• mosquito biology, behavior, adaptation, and disease transmission;
• the relationship between vector-borne disease, travel, climate, and changing geographic distribution;
• differences in prevention and public-health strategies across countries;
• clinical experiences in endemic regions;
• emerging approaches to mosquito surveillance and control;
• communication gaps between scientific knowledge and public awareness.

My interest in mosquito-borne disease is deeply personal.

I welcomed 2024 in Saint Barthélemy, a French island in the Caribbean, surrounded by the beauty of the Caribbean landscape. It was one of those moments when travel feels effortless—warm evenings, open windows, life outdoors, and little reason to think about infectious disease.

A few days after the New Year celebration, I began feeling unwell. Within days, everything changed. I became seriously ill and was eventually taken to the local hospital, where I was diagnosed with dengue.

Until then, dengue was not on my radar. When I thought about mosquito-borne disease, I thought of malaria or yellow fever. I knew almost nothing about dengue—until it became part of my own story. Like many travelers, I had never fully understood how quickly a mosquito-borne infection could transform a beautiful journey into a serious medical event.

I could not have known then that 2024 would become an unprecedented year for dengue globally. More than 14.4 million cases and 11,000 deaths were reported worldwide. Brazil alone reported more than 10 million cases and over 6,000 deaths.

What had happened to me was personal, but it was also part of a much larger story.

My illness was followed by complications and a prolonged recovery.

My daughter also contracted dengue.

What began as a frightening personal experience became a turning point in how I understood health itself. It changed the way I thought about infectious disease, prevention, recovery, travel—and ultimately longevity.

I do not assume that every health change following my illness was caused by dengue. Association does not establish causation. Unanswered questions are precisely where careful research begins.

I believe knowledge carries responsibility. What began as an effort to understand my own experience developed into a broader commitment to use what I learn constructively—to contribute to awareness, prevention, recovery, and better access to reliable information.

That experience became the beginning of my independent research into mosquito-borne and vector-borne disease.

My work in longevity had taught me to think about health across decades. Dengue added another dimension.

Longevity is not only about how we age. It is also about protecting the years ahead of us from preventable threats today—and supporting recovery when illness occurs.

My experience raised questions that became the foundation of my research.

How do mosquito-borne diseases spread? Why are symptoms sometimes overlooked or misunderstood? How are Aedes mosquitoes expanding into new environments? How do travel, human movement, urbanization, climate, and environmental conditions influence disease transmission?

And what happens after the acute infection has passed?

My prolonged recovery made that last question especially important to me. I became interested not only in infection and prevention, but also in post-infectious recovery—what people may experience afterward, what deserves further medical attention, and how health and function can be supported as people recover.

My research therefore extends beyond dengue itself. I am investigating mosquito biology and behavior, disease transmission, epidemiology, prevention, clinical consequences, recovery, vector surveillance and control, and the changing geography of mosquito-borne disease.

I am particularly interested in the gap between what science and public-health authorities know and what an ordinary traveler understands before entering a region where these diseases circulate.

Modern travel makes that gap increasingly important. Within hours, a person can move from a place where a particular mosquito-borne disease is uncommon to one where it is actively circulating—and later return home with an infection acquired thousands of miles away.

The geography of our lives has changed. Disease geography is changing with it.

That makes awareness increasingly important.

This is an independent research and science-communication project.

My work brings together several forms of inquiry:

Scientific literature
Reviewing peer-reviewed research, epidemiological evidence, clinical literature, and public-health data.

Expert interviews
Speaking with physicians, scientists, entomologists, virologists, epidemiologists, vector-control specialists, and researchers working directly with mosquito-borne diseases.

Field perspectives
Learning how prevention, surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, and mosquito control differ between regions.

Patient and survivor experiences
Exploring the human experience of infection and recovery alongside the scientific literature.

Global comparison
Examining approaches used in different environments—from highly developed vector-surveillance programs to regions carrying a substantial burden of mosquito-borne disease.

Public education
Translating complex scientific information into accessible information that may help travelers and communities better understand risk and prevention.

I am currently developing an independent research and publication project examining one of humanity's smallest—and most consequential—disease vectors.

The project began with dengue and has expanded into an investigation of the extraordinary biological relationship among mosquitoes, pathogens, humans, animals, ecosystems, travel, and evolution.

Topics under investigation include dengue, malaria, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever and West Nile virus, alongside mosquito biology, vector adaptation, disease ecology, prevention, recovery and emerging mosquito-control technologies.

The project combines scientific literature with interviews and perspectives from researchers and medical professionals in different regions of the world.

I welcome conversations with:

infectious-disease physicians • virologists • epidemiologists • entomologists • parasitologists • immunologists • tropical-medicine specialists • vector-control researchers • public-health organizations • universities • research institutes

I am particularly interested in perspectives from professionals working in regions affected by dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.

Selected interviews and expert perspectives may be incorporated—with appropriate permission and attribution—into my research publications, educational materials, articles, and forthcoming book project.

Dengue prevention and clinical management • post-dengue recovery • severe dengue • dengue immunology • mosquito behavior • vector surveillance • Aedes control • insecticide resistance • Wolbachia programs • malaria • chikungunya • Zika • yellow fever • West Nile virus • emerging geographic distribution • traveler education • public-health communication

These three principles define the purpose of my research.

Awareness
Understanding the risk before it becomes an emergency. Mosquito-borne diseases are not confined to distant or unfamiliar places. Travel and human mobility connect regions—and the diseases circulating within them—more closely than ever.

Prevention
Turning scientific knowledge into practical action before exposure occurs: understanding current risk, protecting against mosquito bites, recognizing when additional precautions may be needed, and knowing where to find reliable information.

Recovery
Looking beyond the acute infection. For some people, recovery continues after the fever and immediate illness have passed. I am particularly interested in the scientific and clinical questions surrounding post-infectious symptoms, return to health and function, and appropriate medical follow-up.

My objective is not to make people afraid to travel.

I love travel. It has been one of the greatest sources of education, perspective, and inspiration in my life.

My objective is to help people travel informed, recognize risk earlier, and know when to act.

Awareness before the emergency.

This section will document the continuing development of my research and the people, places, and scientific questions shaping it.

Research Articles
Scientific and public-health perspectives on dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.

Expert Interviews
Conversations with physicians, scientists, epidemiologists, entomologists, vector-control specialists, and other experts working directly with mosquito-borne disease.

Field Research
Research visits, observations, institutional perspectives, and field notes from regions affected by mosquito-borne disease.

Dengue & Recovery
Research into dengue, severe disease, clinical outcomes, post-infectious health, and recovery.

Mosquito Science
Mosquito biology and behavior, disease transmission, evolution, surveillance, insecticide resistance, and emerging vector-control technologies.

Prevention & Traveler Education
Evidence-based information designed to help travelers understand risk before exposure, recognize potential illness, and access reliable public-health information.

New articles, interviews, and field notes will be added as the research develops.

Mosquito-borne disease crosses borders—and meaningful research benefits from perspectives that do the same.

I welcome connections with physicians, scientists, researchers, public-health professionals, universities, research institutions, vector-control programs, and individuals with relevant field or lived experience.

If your work intersects with dengue, malaria, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever, West Nile virus, mosquito biology, vector science, traveler health, prevention, clinical care, surveillance, vector control, or post-infectious recovery, I would be pleased to hear from you.

Opportunities may include expert interviews, research conversations, field visits, educational collaboration, scientific review, and contributions to future publications.

If our work intersects, let’s connect.

This project represents independent research, science communication, and educational work.

Information presented on this website is not intended to replace medical diagnosis, treatment, individualized medical advice, or official public-health recommendations.

Where scientific evidence remains uncertain or evolving, that uncertainty will be identified. Personal experiences and individual clinical observations are distinguished from established scientific evidence.