STANDARDIZATION & QUALITY LABEL
Deployment of common standards in vector biology
Poor or unknown levels of data reproducibility represents a major scientific problem in current research. Transposed to vector biology, the lack of unified experimental standards undermines reliable reproduction and comparison of vector infection outcomes across facilities, which can lead to errors in understanding the degree of risk posed by vector-pathogen combinations, and consequent inappropriate preventative responses.
Develop experimental conditions for cross-facility reproducibility of arbovirus and Plasmodium falciparum vector competence assays
- Determine sources of cross-facility variation for vector infection
- Develop standard operating protocol to control cross-facility variation
Disseminate the standard protocol and common standards of performance as an Infravec2 Quality Label
- Use of common standards will allow facilities to generate comparable results
Mosquito experimental infection (©IRD)
Reproducibility will increase value of vector competence assays for quantitative analysis, epidemiological modeling and public health risk prediction.