Overview
According to the World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report, an estimated 228 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide in 2018, with 90% of this total concentrated on the African continent. Alarmingly, and despite an increased public health focus on the elimination of malaria, it is becoming clear that many countries will not be able to achieve this goal without considering novel management approaches. One control strategy in the early stages of development is the use of gene drive mechanisms to suppress or replace vector mosquito populations.
Collaborators & Partners
- Government of Australia
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH)
- New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Current Work

Understanding Mosquito Biology to Inform Risk Assessment
Understanding vector biology is an important component of any disease management strategy. This knowledge will be essential for assessing the potential environmental risks that may be associated with the deployment of genetically engineered mosquitoes. To that end, the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute and representatives from the governments of Brazil and Mexico served as convening lead authors of the OECD’s first biology document for an insect species, Aedes aeqypti, which was published in 2018.
With the success of this first effort, a second mosquito biology document, describing Anopheles gambiae, is now underway. First proposed to the OECD by the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute was pleased to be asked to co-lead the drafting group with NEPAD and the Government of Australia. With funding from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, we partnered with the OECD to convene a workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on March 14-15, 2019 that brought Anopheles experts together to start drafting the biology document. This author group continues its work, with a final document expected to be published by the OECD in 2021.
Our Successes
Between October 2016 and February 2018, the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) organized four regional consultations on the potential use of gene drives to combat malaria transmission through vector suppression. At the request of NEPAD, the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute assisted in setting the agenda for the scientific programs and guided participants through a problem formulation exercise to inform future work on risk assessment.
These consultations served as an introduction to the basic principles of environmental risk assessment. They also provided a critical opportunity to hear from regional risk assessors and stakeholders regarding potential risks that may be associated with deploying gene drive technology for this purpose.
Participants in the workshops identified human health and biodiversity as being relevant broad protection goals. Results of the deliberations provide insight into the concerns of African participants at an early stage in the development of gene drive mosquitos that should be instructive to researchers developing this technology. A summary publication capturing the findings from the four African consultations was published in Malaria Journal in October 2019.
- Central Africa Consultative Meeting · February 2018 in Gabon
- East Africa Consultative Meeting · June 2017 in Kenya
- Southern Africa Consultative Meeting · June 2017 in Botswana
- West Africa Consultative Meeting · October 2016 in Ghana
Discover
Publications
Genetic Biocontrol for Invasive Species
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology | May 25, 2020
This publication provides an overview of the state of genetic biocontrol, focusing on several approaches that were the subject of presentations at the Genetic Biocontrol for Invasive Species Workshop, which was sponsored by the OECD’s Co-operative Research Program on Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems.
Problem Formulation for Gene Drive Mosquitoes Designed to Reduce Malaria Transmission in Africa: Results from Four Regional Consultations 2016–2018
Malaria Journal | October 15, 2019
This summary publication captures the findings from four African consultations organized by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to identify risk hypotheses and data needs for future environmental risk assessment of gene drives in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.
OECD Consensus Document of the Biology of Mosquito Aedes aegypti
Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms in the Environment (Volume 8) | June 23, 2018
Volume 8 of the series Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms in the Environment contains the first OECD biosafety consensus document to deal with the biology of an insect, the mosquito Aedes aegypti.
Results from the Workshop “Problem Formulation for the Use of Gene Drive in Mosquitoes”
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene | November 29, 2016
Reducing the incidence of malaria has been a public health priority for nearly a century. However, before new technologies and associated vector control strategies can be developed and exploited, it will be necessary to understand and assess the likelihood of any potential harms to humans or the environment. To begin this process, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute organized an expert workshop to consider the potential risks related to the use of gene drives in Anopheles gambiae for malaria control in Africa.
Events
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December 9, 2020
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September 22, 2020-October 20, 2020
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September 23, 2020
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June 15, 2020-August 15, 2020
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July 9, 2020-July 17, 2020
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June 23, 2020-June 24, 2020
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May 12, 2020
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March 23, 2020-March 24, 2020
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March 18, 2020-March 20, 2020
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February 20, 2020
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February 12, 2020-February 13, 2020
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November 13, 2019-November 14, 2019
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November 11, 2019-November 13, 2019
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October 8, 2019-October 9, 2019
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September 14, 2019-September 16, 2019
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July 10, 2019-July 11, 2019
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June 17, 2019-June 21, 2019
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June 11, 2019-June 12, 2019
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May 19, 2019-May 24, 2019
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April 8, 2019-April 10, 2019
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April 4, 2019-April 5, 2019
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March 31, 2019
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March 12, 2019-March 13, 2019
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March 4, 2019-March 5, 2019
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March 5, 2019-March 7, 2019
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January 22, 2019
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November 1, 2018-November 2, 2018
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October 23, 2018-October 27, 2018
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September 15, 2018-September 17, 2018
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July 23, 2018-July 25, 2018
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June 26, 2018-June 27, 2018
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June 25, 2018-June 28, 2018
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June 25, 2018-June 26, 2018
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June 12, 2018-June 15, 2018
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April 5, 2018
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April 3, 2018-April 4, 2018
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February 21, 2018-February 22, 2018
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February 19, 2018-February 22, 2018
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February 14, 2018
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February 3, 2018-February 4, 2018
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November 15, 2017-November 16, 2017
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November 6, 2017-November 10, 2017
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October 18, 2017-October 20, 2017
World Food Prize
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October 11, 2017-October 13, 2017
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September 11, 2017-September 13, 2017
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August 18, 2017-August 19, 2017
APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology Workshop
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August 1, 2017-August 3, 2017
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June 26, 2017-June 28, 2017
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June 20, 2017-June 22, 2017
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June 4, 2017-June 8, 2017
ISBGMO14
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April 22, 2017-April 27, 2017
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April 21, 2017
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March 30, 2017-March 31, 2017
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March 27, 2017-March 29, 2017
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January 23, 2017
Agriculture & Food Systems Institute Scientific Session 2017
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December 15, 2016-December 16, 2016
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November 10, 2016
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October 24, 2016-October 28, 2016
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October 24, 2016-October 25, 2016
CQuest: Charting a Course for Climate Research in Agriculture
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October 23, 2016-October 26, 2016
American Association of Cereal Chemists International Annual Meeting
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October 16, 2016-October 19, 2016
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September 19, 2016-September 21, 2016
South Asia Biosafety Conference
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September 21, 2016-September 23, 2016
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September 15, 2016-September 16, 2016
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August 17, 2016-August 19, 2016
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July 1, 2016
Climate Change, Nutrition & Health: Building Collaborative Structures
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May 25, 2016-May 27, 2016
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May 19, 2016-May 21, 2016
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May 18, 2016
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May 17, 2016-May 18, 2016
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May 16, 2016-May 18, 2016
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April 19, 2016-April 21, 2016
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April 13, 2016-April 15, 2016
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April 2, 2016-April 6, 2016
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February 25, 2016
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February 22, 2016-February 23, 2016
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February 18, 2016
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January 25, 2016
Agriculture & Food Systems Institute Scientific Session
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December 15, 2015
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December 10, 2015
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December 9, 2015
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November 19, 2015
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October 11, 2015-October 14, 2015
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September 19, 2015-September 20, 2015
South Asia Biosafety Conference
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July 30, 2015-July 31, 2015
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July 19, 2015-July 25, 2015
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June 21, 2015-June 26, 2015
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May 28, 2015
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May 25, 2015-May 26, 2015
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May 11, 2015-May 15, 2015
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April 27, 2015-April 30, 2015
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April 19, 2015-April 21, 2015
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April 15, 2015-April 17, 2015
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February 25, 2015-February 28, 2015
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February 17, 2015
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November 9, 2014-November 13, 2014
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September 14, 2014
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September 15, 2014-September 19, 2014
Phase II: Workshop on the Safety Assessment of Food Derived from Genetically Engineered Plants
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September 15, 2014-September 16, 2014
South Asia Biosafety Conference
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September 11, 2014-September 12, 2014
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June 23, 2014-June 27, 2014
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March 20, 2014-March 21, 2014
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November 15, 2013-November 16, 2013
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October 9, 2013
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September 29, 2013-October 2, 2013
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September 18, 2013-September 20, 2013
South Asia Biosafety Conference
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June 11, 2013-June 13, 2013
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June 11, 2013
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May 16, 2013-May 17, 2013
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January 10, 2013-January 11, 2013
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December 11, 2012-December 12, 2012
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June 21, 2012-June 22, 2012
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April 15, 2012-April 17, 2012
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November 17, 2011-November 18, 2011
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March 2, 2011-March 3, 2011
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August 16, 2010-August 17, 2010
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August 17, 2009-August 18, 2009
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August 12, 2009-August 15, 2009