NIMR Researchers win an award for research excellence

A team of NIMR researchers led by Dr. Safari Kinung’hi of NIMR Mwanza Centre and their American research collaborators at Emory University lead by Dr. David Civitello have jointly won the Ecological Society of America George Mercer Award 2023 for research excellence. Other NIMR researchers who participated in the study include Dr. Teckla Angelo, Mr. Moses Mahalila and Ms. Jenitha Charles. The award was jointly awarded to the Tanzanian and American teams in recognition of outstanding research work on schistosomiasis due to their joint study titled “Transmission potential of human schistosomes can be driven by resource competition among snail intermediate hosts” which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in February 4, 2022. The study used a combination of theoretical modeling, mesocosm experiments in artificial water bodies and field surveys to demonstrate that transmission of schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease prevalent in Tanzania and other tropical countries can be driven by resource competition among snail intermediate hosts in local transmission sites in the Mwanza region and surrounding areas. The study is the first of its kind to demonstrate how the size of a freshwater snail population affects its schistosome parasite transmission potential, a finding with direct relevance for disease control. The study further advanced the understanding of the ecology and transmission dynamics of schistosomiasis in Tanzania and other endemic countries revealing that intraspecific competition for resources is a key driver of disease transmission. 

To read more about the ESA awards, please visit HERE