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Inga Siden-Kiamos

Inga Siden-Kiamos
Home > Research > Insects & Vector Borne diseases

Inga Siden-Kiamos

Emerita Principal Researcher

Bactrocera oleae, the olive fruit fly, is the major pest of olive trees causing substantial economic losses to the farmers. Currently control of the fly is mainly based on insecticides, but new environmentally friendly methods are needed. The fly lays its eggs in the olive, where the larvae develop concomitantly damaging the olive. For survival of the larvae a symbiotic bacterium is essential, especially in the unripe olives. This fact suggests that the fly may be combated by targeting the microbe. Our project aims to understand the biology of the interaction between the fly and the symbiont in order to develop novel strategies for olive fly control.

Malaria is a disease having a huge impact on human health and economic development, primarily in less developed countries in Africa and South East Asia, with more than half a million lethal cases every year. Malaria is caused by unicellular protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which are transmitted by anopheline mosquitoes. The disease is controlled by drugs targeting the parasite in the human host and insecticides to limit the exposure to the mosquito. However, resistance of the parasite to the drugs used and of the mosquitoes to the insecticides threaten these strategies. It is recognized that in order to eliminate the disease, methods to block transmission through the mosquito are crucial prerequisites. However, the development of such methods is hampered by the fact that these parasite stages are not well understood. For this reason, we focus on understanding key events during the development of the parasite within the mosquito.