Dawn Wesson
associate professor

Department(s):
Global and Community Health - BSPH
Tropical Medicine

Email:
wesson@tulane.edu

Research Interests:
Ecology of arbovirus transmission; host-pathogen coevolution; development of novel vector control strategies and tools; effect of arbovirus infection on human pregnancy outcome

Professional Achievements:
1997-2001 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, American Committee on Medical Entomology Council
1999-2009 Board of Directors member, LA Mosquito Control Association,
2000-2002 Vice president and president, LA Mosquito Control Association
2000-2003 Vice chair and chair, Entomological Society of America, medical & veterinary entomology section secretary
2000-2005 Member, Tropical Medicine and Parasitology Study Section, NIH
2002-2006 Member, LA Arbovirus Working Group, Arbovirus Surveillance Subcommittee
2003 Woman of the Year, City Business New Orleans
2003-2006 Board of Trustees member, Environmental Research Consortium of Louisiana; chair, 2004-2006
2005-2006 Member, Gulf War and Health: Infectious Disease Committee, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
2007-2008 New Orleans Mosquito Control Board, appointed by the mayor of New Orleans
2007 St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Control Advisory Board

Educational Background:
PhD, University of Notre Dame
MS, University of Illinois at Chicago
BA, North Central College
Postdoctoral, Malaria Branch, CDC
Postdoctoral, Emory University

Publications:
Morales ME, Wesson DM, Sutherland IW, Impoinvil DE, Mbogo CM, Githure JI, Beier JC. 2003. Determination of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) larval DNA in the gut of insectivorous dragonfly (Libellulidae) nymphs by PCR. . Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 19:163-165.

Aultman K, Beard B, Benedict M, Higgs S, Nasci R, Scott T, Severson D, Wesson D (and 11 others). 2003. Arthropod containment guidelines. A project of the American Committee of Medical Entomology and American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 3: 61-98.

Ocampo CB, Wesson DM. 2004. Population dynamics of Aedes aegypti from a dengue hyper-endemic urban setting in Colombia. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 71(4):506-13.

Spielman A, Andreadis TG, Apperson CS, Cornel AJ, Day JF, Edman JD, Fish D, Harrington LC, Kiszewski, AE, Lampman R, Lanzaro GC, Matuschka FR, Munstermann LE, Nasci, RS, Norris DE, Novak RJ, Pollack RJ, Reisen WK, Reiter P, Savage HM, Tabachnick WJ, Wesson DM. 2004. Outbreak of West Nile virus in North America. Letters. Science 306: 1473-1475.

Palmisano CT, Taylor V, Caillouet K, Byrd B, Wesson DM. 2005. Impact of West Nile Virus outbreak upon an organized mosquito control program. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 21:33-38.

Morales ME, Ocampo CB, Cadena H, Copeland CS, Termini M, Wesson DM. 2005 Differential identification of Ascogregarina species (Apicomplexa: Lecudinidae) in Aedes aegypti, and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) by the polymerase chain reaction. J Parasitol. 91: 1352-1357.

Smith S, Michaels ST, Anderson CH, Balsamo GA, Xu Z, Roy A, Shelby B and Wesson DM. 2005 Louisiana ArboNet: A Web-Based Arboviral Surveillance System. Wing Beats. Fall Issue. 16: 16-20. (arbonet.caeph.tulane.edu)

Dorn PL, Periniciaro L, Yabsley MJ, Roellig DM, Balsamo G, Diaz J, Wesson D. 2007. First report of a human case of autochthonous transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in Louisiana and sixth in U.S. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 13(4). http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/4/605.htm

Ellis BR, Wesson DM, and Sang R. 2007. Spatiotemporal distribution of diurnal Yellow Fever vectors (Diptera: Culicidae) at two sylvan interfaces in Kenya, East Africa. (In press, J. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis.)

Caillouet K, Carlson J, Wesson DM. 2007. Effect of Hurricane Katrina flood on mosquito populations in New Orleans, Louisiana. (In review, J. Med. Entomol.).

Ellis BR, McElroy K, Higgs S, Wesson DM and Sang RC. 2007. Oral susceptibility of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia) bromeliae to an emerging genotype of Yellow Fever Virus in East Africa. (In review, Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg.).

Ponnusamy L, Xu N, Stav G, Wesson DM, Schal C, Apperson CS. 2007. Survey of beta diversity of bacterial communities in container habitats of mosquitoes using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. (In review, Appl. Environ. Microbiol.)

Contact Information:
Associate Professor
Department of Tropical Medicine
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
1440 Canal Street, Suite 2210
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone 504.988.2643
Fax 504.988.6686

Level of Instruction:
graduate