Personal profile

Short presentation

Improving environmental monitoring of vector-borne diseases in a changing world

Mita Eva Sengupta is a molecular biologist with focus on parasitology and vector ecology and biology. The overall aim of my research is to improve early detection and environmental surveillance of vectors and parasitic diseases important to animal and human health in Denmark and globally.

My main focus is on developing and applying new molecular methods based on environmental DNA (eDNA) for rapid on-site, non-invasive monitoring of emerging disease vectors and parasites to facilitate early detection in the environment, before potential spillover to animals and humans. Emerging vectors and parasites are characterized by occurring in low abundance in the environment - thus hard to find with traditional monitoring methods. Here, application of eDNA has proven to be advantageous since the tool detects DNA traces left behind by the vector and parasite organisms in the environment, and not the organism itself. The eDNA-based method is therefore an important tool, allowing us to be better prepared for future new and emerging vector borne diseases.

Through my research, I also want to improve our understanding of the interaction between the vector, its microbiota, the transmitted pathogens and the environment, to provide novel opportunities to prevent spread or limit disease transmission. I am particularly interested in unravelling the role of the microbiome of vector organisms for their ability to transmit diseases (their vector competence) and how that in turn is affected by changing environmental and climatic conditions.

My current research focus on ticks, snails and mosquito vectors and some of the diseases they transmit (such as babesiosis, TBE and fasciolosis). For instance, I am developing an eDNA-based detection tool for fasciolosis across different field settings along a vast latitudinal gradient from Denmark to South Africa in the EU Horizon 2020 project PREPARE4VBD www.prepare4vbd.eu, and validating the use of eDNA for mosquito surveillance in Denmark.

I am part of the research group "Parasites, Vectors and the Environment”, where I run the molecular diagnostic workflows for vectors and pathogens in our VectorLab.

I teach veterinary medicine and biology students in parasite diagnostics, environmental monitoring of vector borne diseases, human and zoonotic parasites, as well as supervise master- and PhD-students.

For more information, please visit the research group “Parasites, Vectors and the Environment”

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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