$8 Million Grant To Help UCR Study How Mosquitoes, Ticks Spread Disease

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — How mosquitoes and ticks spread disease will be the center of research at UC Riverside, launched with an $8 million federal grant, the university said Sunday. The Riverside school will collaborate with a sister branch of the University of California, at Davis, to focus on prevention and control methods for diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks in the region.

The Pacific Southwest Regional Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases will launch later this month with a $8 million dollar grant from the Centers for Disease Control, UC Riverside announced in a news release.

It will allow entomologists, epidemiologists, virologists, and computer scientists at the two campuses to improve public health practices related to vector-borne diseases and expand collaboration between academics and public health officials, the school announcement said.

"This Center of Excellence will bring together researchers using the latest cutting-edge approaches in the laboratory and field with practitioners protecting public health," said UCR Professor of Entomology and Center Co- Director William Walton.

The grant will provide funding for the endeavor through the end of 2021.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock