Samraat Pawar
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Samraat Pawar has a total of 11 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Alison G. Power
Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
1 shared publication - Erin A. Mordecai
Stanford University
1 shared publication - Fadoua El Moustaid
Virginia Tech
1 shared publication - Lauren J. Cator
Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
1 shared publication - Leah R. Johnson
Department of Statistics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, USA
1 shared publication - Matthew B. Thomas
Department of Entomology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
More than a flying syringe: Using functional traits in vector-borne disease research
Many important endemic and emerging diseases are vector-borne. The functional traits of vectors affect not just pathogen transmission rates, but also the fitness and population dynamics of these animals themselves. Increasing empirical evidence suggests that vector traits vary significantly at time scales relevant to transmission dynamics. Currently, an understanding of how this variation in key traits impacts transmission is hindered by a lack of both empirical data and theoretical methods for mechanistically incorporating traits into transmission models. Here, we present a framework for incorporating both intrinsic and environment-driven variation in vector traits into empirical and theoretical vector-borne disease research. This framework mechanistically captures the effect of trait variation on vector fitness, the correlation between vector traits, and how these together determine transmission dynamics. We illustrate how trait-based vector-borne disease modelling can make novel predictions, and identify key steps and challenges in the construction, empirical parameterisation and validation of such models, as well as the organization and prioritization of data collection efforts.
Open AccessMore than a flying syringe: Using functional traits in vector-borne disease research
Many important endemic and emerging diseases are vector-borne. The functional traits of vectors affect not just pathogen transmission rates, but also the fitness and population dynamics of these animals themselves. Increasing empirical evidence suggests that vector traits vary significantly at time scales relevant to transmission dynamics. Currently, an understanding of how this variation in key traits impacts transmission is hindered by a lack of both empirical data and theoretical methods for mechanistically incorporating traits into transmission models. Here, we present a framework for incorporating both intrinsic and environment-driven variation in vector traits into empirical and theoretical vector-borne disease research. This framework mechanistically captures the effect of trait variation on vector fitness, the correlation between vector traits, and how these together determine transmission dynamics. We illustrate how trait-based vector-borne disease modelling can make novel predictions, and identify key steps and challenges in the construction, empirical parameterisation and validation of such models, as well as the organization and prioritization of data collection efforts.