08/28/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/28/2024 12:50
Associate Professor of Epidemiology Andrew Lover has been selected as a commissioner of the Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District (PVMCD), which provides mosquito control services - suppressing both nuisance and disease-carrying mosquito populations - to municipalities in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.<_o3a_p>
The PVMCD falls under the oversight of the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board, which sits within the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.<_o3a_p>
Lover began his term on the five-member board of commissioners on July 1. An expert in infectious disease epidemiology and vector-borne diseases, he will provide his knowledge and experience to help set and communicate mosquito control plans and policies in the Pioneer Valley region. He also serves as Deputy Director of the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, awarded to UMass Amherst in 2022 and funded through a $10 million, five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to prevent vector-borne diseases and test evidence-based solutions for more effective control of ticks and mosquitoes across New England.<_o3a_p>