Professor Martha Quiñones

Dr Martha L. Quiñones began her career in medical entomology working for the Colombia National Malaria Control Program. She obtained a Master’s degree in Medical Parasitology and a PhD, both at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, working with malaria vectors in The Gambia. She joined a research group in tropical medicine at the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, as a researcher for nine years, and since 2006 joined the Parasitology Unit of the Public Health Department of the National University in Bogota, as a professor and researcher. Her major research interests have always been finding ways to control vector transmitted diseases. Her main areas of work have been malaria and dengue vectors, and others such as leishmaniasis and Chagas’ disease. Dr Quiñones had the opportunity to join the Entomology and Vector Control Unit of the Global Malaria Program in WHO in 2015 - 2017.

Over the past 20 years her main focus has been basic and operational research on the biology, ecology, taxonomy, insecticide resistance, evaluation of vector control methods, mainly for malaria control and elimination. She is actively involved in teaching and training in medical entomology and control of vector borne diseases. She has been a member of the Vector Control Advisory Group of WHO, and the DDT Expert Group of the Stockholm Convention at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and served as consultant for regional support for WHO/PAHO.

With over 80 papers in peer reviewed journals, she has contributed to understanding the role of primary and secondary vectors of different species of Anopheles in malaria transmission, including clarification of different Anopheles species complex in the Amazon region, their biology and ecology, the influence of climate such as El Niño on malaria transmission, factors influencing the success of vector control, development of insecticide resistance national and regional networks, as well as identifying the challenges faced by the malaria control programs, mainly in Latin America, to reach malaria elimination.