Serap Aksoy, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases); Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Dr. Aksoy is interested in pursuing research at the interface of climate change and insect physiology. Incidence of vector-borne diseases has been increasing in temperate climates and feared to be influenced by climate change effects globally. Dr. Aksoy is interested in analyzing climate change impacts on key insect physiologies that affect population densities and disease transmission traits. Changes in reproductive physiology would modify insect population densities, an essential parameter for vector-borne diseases. Changes in insect immune responses would increase the survival and transmission of pathogens adversely impacting disease control efforts. Dr. Aksoy leads several large NIH-supported research and training programs on control of African trypanosomiasis in sub-Sahara.