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Frédéric Simard, IRD, Montpellier, France

Frédéric Simard is a medical entomologist working for the French Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), with extensive experience in the bionomics and population genetics of major human malaria vectors in Africa where he spent c.a. 15 years. Working in Senegal (1995-1999), he pioneered the use of microsatellite DNA markers for the study of the population genetics of the most devastating African malaria vectors, Anopheles gambiae and An. arabiensis.

In Cameroon (2001-2007) he contributed to highlight the epidemiological importance of other mosquito species to the transmission of human pathogens in Central Africa, developing and using molecular tools for systematics and population genetics within groups of neglected and frequently overlooked mosquito vectors. At the same time, his work on An. gambiae and An. funestus was mainly geared towards unraveling the adaptive potential of these widespread species, with a focus on local adaptation and speciation. Then in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso (2007-2011), his work aimed at bridging state-of-the-art laboratory research and field work towards a better understanding of key biological attributes of disease vectors such as longevity, mating and biting behavior, local adaptation and speciation through an integrative approach merging population genetics and genomics, geography, physiology and behavioural ecology.

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