DAVIS--Dengue patients in Iquitos, Peru with even a mild form of the disease are suffering not only physically but economically, says dengue researcher and doctoral candidate Sandy Olkowski of the Thomas Scott Lab, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis.

If a patient is the sole wage earner in the family, lost wages can amount to a third of the monthly household income.

Olkowski recently gave a presentation on the "Economic Impact of Work Absenteeism Due to Dengue Fever in Iquitos, Peru” at the fifth annual American Society of Tropical Medicine Hygiene/Peru meeting.

“Over a quarter of the laboratory-confirmed patients fell significantly below Peru's minimum monthly wage,” Olkowski said. “In the wage group with the highest rate of dengue, lost wages due to dengue illness represented more than 25 to 30 percent of their monthly income. It's also important to note that we included only wage-earners, whereas the majority of women work in the home and are not earning a wage, so these are one-income households.”

Olkowski and research physician Stalin Vilcarromero of the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6 (NAMRU-6), looked at lost work days due to non-severe dengue. UC Davis and NAMRU-6 are long-term collaborators. Although Olkowski is a Ph.D candidate, the research was not part of her dissertation.

“In this project, Dr. Vilcarromero and I quantified one aspect of the 'hidden economic burden' of dengue in Iquitos,” she said. “A lot of attention is being given to the economic impact of hospitalized dengue cases but that's not the full story. Our research demonstrates that even when dengue is technically a ‘mild' illness, the people who live with it are suffering not only physically but economically.”

“For this study, we looked at how lost work days due to non-severe dengue affects people,” Olkowski said, explaining that in Iquitos, most families have a single wage earner and receive little or no paid sick leave. “Thus, taking a sick day can mean less support for their families.”

“We considered only patients who went to a clinic but were not hospitalized and who were laboratory confirmed for dengue serotype 4,” she said. “That is generally considered to cause mild, ambulatory illness so that would probably not be taken too seriously from an economic impact standpoint.”

Of the conference, which drew participants from all over Latin America and the United States, Olkowski said: “It was a really exciting opportunity for Peruvian-driven science to be presented in Peru.”

This was her third trip to Iquitos. On each of the first two trips, she did research for about two months, and has now been in Iquitos for seven months.

Olkowski, who is seeking her doctorate in entomology with a major interest in medical entomology and public health, expects to graduate in the summer of 2016. She holds a bachelor's degree in economics from UC Davis.

The world-class Thomas Scott lab studies the dengue virus, which is transmitted by Aedes aegypti, a daytime-biting mosquito. The dengue virus has been spreading globally over the last four decades, including parts of United States. More than half of the world's population is now at risk of infection. The disease infects 400 million people each year. 

Scott, distinguished professor of entomology and director of the Mosquito Research Program, is the principal investigator of two grants totaling nearly $10 million to study the mosquito-borne, viral illness. 

The grants, awarded in 2014, include $7.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $2.2 million from Notre Dame University. 

Amy Morrison of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, co-leads the projects in Iquitos, where she directs the long-running UC Davis epidemiological field research program in collaboration with NAMRU-6. Other UC Davis researchers involved in the grants are Steven Stoddard, Robert C. Reiner, T. Alex Perkins, Veronica Armijos, Jody Simpson and Christopher Barker and Olkowski.

The $2.2 million grant, “Spatial Repellants for Control of Vector-borne Disease,” from Notre Dame University, is the first-ever project aimed at dengue prevention. It focuses on studying the potential for spatial insect repellants to reduce exposure to dengue virus in people's homes.

The NIH grant, “Quantifying Heterogeneities in Dengue Virus Transmission Dynamics,” aims to quantify how much people, with different degrees of illness, vary in their contribution to virus transmission and spread. 

DAVIS--Student applications for the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology, University of California, Davis, are now being accepted through Friday, April 10. 

Eligible to apply are first and second-year students and new transfer students interested in a one-on-one training and mentorship in insect biology.

The program can provide the opportunity to learn research skills in all areas of biology, including behavior and ecology, biodiversity, agroecology, population biology, mathematical biology, human health, cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, said co-director and co-founder Jay Rosenheim, professor of entomology, Department of Entomology and Nematology, UC Davis. 

Details are at http://ucanr.org/sites/insectscholars/

Rosenheim and Louie Yang and Joanna Chiu, fellow faculty members of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, organized the program in 2011 to provide undergraduates with a closely mentored research experience in biology. The program's goal is to provide academically strong and highly motivated undergraduates with a multi-year research experience that cultivates skills that will prepare them for a career in biological research and useful for students whose career goals will take them to medical school, veterinary school, or graduate programs in any biological sub-discipline. More than 40 mentoring faculty are involved in the program.

One of the many success stories is Jessica West, a member of Joanna Chiu's molecular genetics lab. She recently received the $2500 undergraduate student award in the President's Global Food Initiative Student Fellowship Program, sponsored by the UC Office of the President.

West, majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, works in the Chiu lab on the Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii or SWD), a serious pest of fruit crops. In collaboration with scientists in the U.S. and around the world, including Frank Zalom, UC Davis professor of entomology, West is surveying populations of SWD using next-generation sequencing to determine the extent of possible insecticide resistance.

West was one of eight students among a pool of 50 selected to be a member of the Class of 2013, Research Scholars in Insect Biology Program.

(NOTE: THE INITIAL DATE WAS APRIL 2. THE DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO APRIL 9.)

DAVIS--"Anatomy of Angels," "Alba, the Fluorescent Bunny," "The Beauty of Disease and Why We Have Trees" and "Art as a Social Practice" will be the topics at the UC Davis L.A.S.E.R. (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) session, set  April 9 in the Plant and Environmental Sciences (PES) Building, UC Davis campus.

The event, free and open to the public, will take place from  6:30 to 9 p.m. in Room 3001 of PES. It will be moderated by organizer Anna Davidson.

LASER is affiliated with the UC Davis Art Science Fusion Program, which was co-founded and co-directed by entomologist/artist Diane Ullman and artist Donna Billick. Ullman is a professor of entomology with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Billick, who has a master's degree in genetics, describes herself as a "rock artist," creating mosaic ceramic art.

The schedule:

6:30-7 p.m. Socializing/Networking

7 to 7:25. Matt Gilbert,  “The Comparative Anatomy of Angels.”
Abstract:
Matt Gilbert's current body of work includes small, kinetic, motor-driven sculptures of filament and wire that explore a contemporary understanding of living things as complex systems. 

Biosketch
Matt Gilbert is a master of fine arts candidate in Studio Art at UC Davis. His practice includes programming and the fabrication of electronics and 3D printed parts for kinetic sculpture, sound installations, video and animation. He received his bachelor of fine arts in graphic design from the Art Center College of Design. 

 7:25-7:50. Alison Van Eenennaam. “Alba: the Fluorescent Bunny.”
Abstract: Eduardo Kac, a professor of art and technology at the Chicago School of Art Institute produced a picture of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic bunny called “Alba.” "GFP Bunny" was realized in 2000 and first presented publicly in Avignon, France. The artist proposed that “transgenic art” is a new art form based on the use of genetic engineering to transfer natural or synthetic genes to an organism, to create unique living beings. The artist came under considerable criticism for the picture which some consider to have been fabricated. "The picture itself is a construction," said Reinhard Nestelbacher, a molecular biologist at the University of Salzburg. "The rabbit could never look like that. The main reason is that the GFP gene is expressed, for example, in the skin and cannot be expressed in the hair." Said Stuart Newman, a member of the Council for Responsible Genetics and a cell biologist at New York Medical College: “Art misrepresents  reality all the time -- and he's an artist, not a scientist, but I think people are beholden to tell the truth." Are artists beholden to tell the truth about GMOs?"

Biosketch:
Alison Van Eenennaam is a genomics and biotechnology researcher and Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis.  She received a bachelor of agricultural science from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and both a master's degree in animal science, and a PhD in genetics from UC Davis. The mission of her extension program is “to provide research and education on the use of animal genomics and biotechnology in livestock production systems.” Her outreach program focuses on the development of science-based educational materials including the controversial biotechnologies of genetic engineering (GE) and cloning. She has served on several national committees, including the USDA National Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21^st Century Agriculture, (2005-2009), and as a temporary voting member of the 2010 FDA Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee meeting on the AquAdvantage salmon, the first GE animal to be evaluated for entry into the food supply.  Van Eenennaam received the 2014 Borlaug Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) Communication Award.

7:50-8:10 BREAK.  Networking/socializing. During the break anyone can have 30 seconds to share work, announce an exhibition, show, an idea etc. 

 8:10-8:35  Thomas Gordon. “The Beauty of Disease and Why We Still Have Trees.” 
Abstract: 
Disease caused by parasitic microorganisms is a universal feature of life on earth. The need for all multi-cellular life forms to co-exist with potentially life-threatening parasites has been a powerful force in shaping the world in which we live.

Biosketch
Thomas Gordon is a UC Davis professor of plant pathology. His responsibilities include maintaining a research program on the biology of fungi that parasitize plants. He teaches a general education course on fungi and how they affect and are exploited by people; an upper division course on fungal ecology: and a graduate course on the principles of plant pathology.

8:35-9  Evan Clayburg & Sally Hensel.  “Art as a Social Practice.” 
Abstract: 
Sally Hensel and Evan Clayburg, two founders of Third Space Art Collective in Davis, will talk about starting an art collective and an ongoing project, which examines authentic connection through artistic co-creation.

Biosketches
Sally Hensel, who was born and grew up in the in the Central Valley, describes herself as a 30-year-old without a bank account or mobile phone. She said she has dropped out of UC Davis twice; the second time with a bachelor of arts degree in film studies. She finds that happiness comes to her when she brings people together.

Evan Clayburg is a multimedia and performance artist. After years of dividing his time between  well-lit ad agency boardrooms and poorly-lit DIY experimental / punk music basements in the Chicago area, he relocated to Davis and has been active in art, music and community organizing over the past four years. He received a bachelor's degree in graphic arts from Bradley University in 2003. 

Moderator/Organizer:
Anna Davidson is currently a master of fine arts student in Art Studio at UC Davis. She received her Ph.D. in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, studying plant ecophysiology. She studies the biological world using both artistic and scientific approaches. 

For more information: 
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/450142691817307/

http://www.leonardo.info/isast/laser.html

http://www.scaruffi.com/leonardo/

 Map: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/plantsciences/visitors/map.htm

 Anna Davidson: adavidson@ucdavis.edu

 

Entomologist Jeff Smith knows how to spread his wings--and that of butterflies and moths, too.

Usually “spreading one's wings” means leaving, but for Smith--a retired businessman, a 27-year volunteer at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, and a U.S. Air Force veteran--“spreading wings” means staying and doing what he loves.

Smith curates the 400,000-specimen Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum, a world-renowned insect museum that  houses a global collection of nearly 8 million specimens. Smith organizes and identifies the butterflies and moths, creates the drawers that display them, and the labels that identify them. In between, he shares his passion for insects and spiders at outreach programs.

The entomologist has spread the wings of 200,000 butterflies and moths, or about 7000 a year, since 1988. “I do most of the work at my home (Rocklin), where I spread and identify specimens and add them to the museum collection,” he said.

“My life is dedicated to this passion of entomology,” said Smith, an associate of the Bohart Museum and a member of the Bohart Museum Society and the Lepidopterists' Society. “Entomology is my passion and the Bohart Museum is my cause.” He retired in 2013 from a 35-year career with Univar Environmental Science but that just means he can spend more time at the insect museum.

“The Lepidoptera collection is an excellent worldwide resource,” said Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and professor of entomology at UC Davis. “Jeff has completely reorganized the butterfly and moth collection. It's no small feat to rearrange this many specimens, housed in roughly 3000 drawers. They have to be identified, and the taxonomy requires extensive updating and reorganization. He has re-curated all of the major moth families.”

If anyone were to put a monetary value on Jeff Smith's museum donations, it would exceed $160,000, said Kimsey, calculating that the 200,000 curated butterflies and moths alone translates into 33,000 hours of work.

A philanthropist extraordinaire, Smith has donated more than 35,000 specimens from his own collection; gifted more than 6000 foam-bottomed unit boxes, 5000 pins and seven reams of label paper; and crafted more than 2000 glass-topped specimen drawers to the Bohart Museum. He loves doing outreach programs, including classroom visits, Bohart open houses, state and county fairs, festivals, school science events, UC Davis Picnic Day and other educational opportunities. He engages crowds with specimens, but also with the permanent residents of the Bohart's live “Petting Zoo.” It was Smith who donated the crowd favorite, Rosie the Tarantula, who lived to 24 years.

Some of the work he does: Smith curates thousands of moths and butterflies given him by UC Davis scientists visiting various locations, including Arizona (Bohart senior museum scientist Steve Heydon), Belize (UC Davis-doctorate entomologist Fran Keller; Arizona, Texas and North Dakota (Andy Engelis, curator of the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology) and the ongoing Bohart research led by Lynn Kimsey at the Algodones Dunes in Imperial County. Smith has spread thousands of micro-lepidoptera for the Dunes project.

In 2000, a scientific team led by Heydon returned from Papua New Guinea with a vast amount of specimens, and over the next two years Smith spread around 18,000 moths and butterflies, all now incorporated into the Bohart collection.

Smith can spread the wings of a butterfly or moth in several minutes, from the smallest to the largest. His smallest moth was a 1 mm long moth (about the size of a period at the end of this sentence) with a wingspan of 2 to 2.5 mm. Heydon collected it in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, central Africa,

The largest moth he's spread? The Atlas moth, which has a 12-inch wingspan.

"Personally, I am astounded by the thousands upon thousands of butterflies and moths that leff has prepared for display or scientific study," said research entomologist Tom Zavorink, a Bohart Museum associate. "This is no small task because butterfly and moth specimens are usually brought from the field in envelopes or boxes with their wings folded over their backs or around their bodies, and preparing them for display or scientific study involves relaxing them in a humid chamber so their wings and legs can be manipulated, carefully spreading open the wings, positioning them on a flat surface, and securing them in that position until the specimen dries again. This is an onerous task that many entomologists, myself included, shun because we don't have the time, manual dexterity, or patience it takes to prepare quality specimens."

Smith worked at the Bohart on vacations, evenings and weekends while working full-time at Univar, a major product supplier to the professional pest management industries. “As a salesman of 23 years and then resource development with our website until I retired, I had the chance to teach our customers how to do pest control properly,” Smith related. “I taught probably thousands of classes on safe and effective use of pesticides, personal safety, pest identification and biology, etc., and like to think I made an impact on increasing the professionalism of this industry.” A frequent speaker at industry conferences, Smith was often the “go to” person for insect identification and technical questions.

Smith credits his parents with sparking his interest in insects. As a child growing up in Campbell, Calif., he collected butterflies, moths and other insects. “My parents loved the outdoors and taught us to be curious,” he said. His father, Al, now deceased, was a general contractor, and his mother, Alice, now 98, worked in the business.

Jeff Smith holds two bachelor's degrees from San Jose State University: one in biology and one in environmental health, both with concentrations in entomology. In between degrees, he served four years in the Air Force as a ground crew chief on B-52s and KC-135s. The Air Force awarded him the master crew chief certificate earlier than other crew members. “I am particularly proud of that: I worked hard, and took my job seriously,” said Smith, who saw duty in Thailand and Guam. It was at his home base in Riverside that he would meet his wife-to-be, Cathy, also in the U. S. Air Force.

From his father he learned woodworking. Of the some 2000 drawers he has made for the Bohart Museum “about half are from scratch,” he said. They include 150 drawers from recycled redwood decking and fencing. He makes and donates spreading boards for open houses and for UC Davis Entomology Club clinics.

“I love retirement and all the additional time I now have for the Bohart and oh, for my wife," Smith said. "Our daughter and one granddaughter live in Prescott, Ariz., and I make things for them such as beds, bookshelves, and other wood objects.”

One of Smith's philosophies is “to leave the world better than I found it, and that pertains not only to my work in the Bohart but also to my 35-year career at Univar.”   

Another involves the Golden Rule, or as he says “If you wouldn't want someone doing it to you, don't do it to them.” And a third philosophy "that I stole"  from an inspirational man who teaches music to inner city youth in Los Angeles: “Love what you do, do what you love, and take the time to teach others about your passion.”

Jeff Smith is doing all three.

"We really don't know what we would do without Jeff Smith," Kimsey said.