We remember when Jenny Sara Carlson received her doctorate in entomology with a dedicated emphasis in the biology of vector-borne diseases in August of 2015 from the University of California, Davis. Her dissertation: "Culicine Vector Competence and Its Role in the Transmission of Avian Malaria in California."
This week the UC Davis-educated medical entomologist, now known by her married name, Dr. Jenny Sara Carlson Donnelly, received a crushing blow.
Jenny was terminated--fired--from her job as a Malaria Outbreak Emergency Advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the independent agency of the U.S. government that President John F. Kennedy established in 1961 to extend development assistance to countries around the world.
Her position involved supporting the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) in the Bureau of Global Health as a Malaria Outbreak Emergency Advisor. Specifically, she worked to support PMI countries in Africa with strategic planning for malaria outbreaks. She had worked for USAID since 2018. Her last duties and responsibilities:
- Design and management of malaria technical assistance related programs/projects that help prevent and/or are responsive to emergency situations;
- Provision of specialized technical expertise and direction to countries in one or more of the following technical areas: service delivery, supply chain operations, vector control, surveillance and monitoring, or social and behavioral change/risk communication;
- Participation in development of strategies for preventing and responding to malaria outbreaks and disruptions to malaria services;
- Policy formulation for programs and/or operations related to preventing and responding to malaria outbreaks and/or the maintenance of malaria services; and
- Representation to internal and external stakeholders, including serving as liaison between USAID, CDC, and other USG agencies involved in emergency and outbreak planning and response in malaria programs.
'Combat the Spread of Disease'
"USAID programs aim to support economic growth, combat the spread of disease, promote democratic reform, and address food insecurity," according to the Office of Inspection General. "The agency also provides assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to alleviate poverty, and emerging from periods of conflict. USAID undertakes broad development and foreign assistance activities while aiming to expand stable, free societies, create markets and trade partners for the United States, and foster goodwill abroad. With headquarters in Washington, D.C. and missions around the world, USAID partners with private voluntary organizations, indigenous organizations, universities, the private sector, international agencies, other governments, and other U.S. Government agencies."
However, under the Trump administration, USAID is in the process of being dismantled.
We Remember Jenny Well
We remember Jenny well. A brilliant graduate student dedicated to her medical entomology. Eager to learn, serve and share.
After receiving her doctorate from UC Davis, she accepted a postdoctoral scholar position in October of 2015 at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she determined the influence of Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti larval exposure to different microbes in the breeding water on the adult's permissiveness to human pathogens: Plasmodium falciparum, dengue virus, and Zika virus.
Then the Entomological Society of America (ESA) singled out "Dr. Jenny" for a great honor: to deliver a Premier Presentation at its 2015 meeting, held Nov. 15-18 in Minneapolis, Minn.
In a Bug Squad blog posted Nov. 12, 2015, we wrote that Jenny, a member of the ESA section, Medical, Urban and Veterinary Entomology, would speak on avian (bird) malaria, and that she was one of only 20 presenters--five from each specialty section--to deliver a Premier Presentation.
In her presentation, Jenny discussed the work that she'd completed at UC Davis under the tutelage of her major professor, medical entomologist Anthony Cornel, a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT) faculty who is headquartered at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center,Parlier. While at UC Davis, Jenny was based in the lab of medical entomologist William Reisen, then director of the Center for Vectorborne Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, and an ENT graduate student advisor. Reisen, now retired, also served on her dissertation committee.
Four-Fold Goals
At the time, Jenny listed her goals as four-fold:
1. To continue conducting research in the field of human and animal disease
2. To apply her knowledge in vector-borne diseases to help improve human, animal and ecosystem health
3. To participate in collaborative research on naturally occurring human and animal disease
4. To learn new molecular techniques that would aid in the identification of re-emerging and novel pathogens
Fast forward to Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. Jenny knew her position was in jeopardy. "Hope…that's what I'm holding onto," she wrote on her Facebook page.
On Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, she was fired. On Feb. 27, she learned that "our malaria contracts have been terminated. This is truly the end."
An Honor of a Lifetime
"It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve at USAID," she began in her Facebook post to her 1300 followers.
"I built my career as an entomologist, believing that science and data could help save lives. That belief led me to USAID and the President's Malaria Initiative, where I worked alongside dedicated colleagues to combat disease, strengthen health systems, and support communities around the world. Our work was focused in Africa, where the most vulnerable—children under five, the same age as my own, and pregnant mothers (she was in Africa three times when she was pregnant with Victoria)—face the greatest risk from malaria. Every year, malaria kills over 600,000 people, and nearly 80% of those deaths are children under five. That means a child dies from malaria every minute. But we know how to stop it—with prevention, treatment, and sustained investment in global health."
"Development work is not easy, and it is not without risk. The real work happens in-country, where our colleagues and partners put themselves on the line every day to deliver services, collect critical data, and implement life-saving programs. Many of them make deep personal sacrifices—facing insecurity, political pressure, and even threats to their safety—because they believe in a better future for their communities. They are the backbone of global health and development, and they deserve our unwavering support."
"Today, I was terminated from my position because it was deemed 'in the best interest of the U.S. government.' I am mourning—not just the loss of a job, but the loss of a field I have dedicated my life to, the ideals of global health and development, and the communities I have been honored to serve."
"Let me be clear: USAID employees are not criminals. We are professionals, scientists, and dedicated public servants working to make the world a better, safer place. I am proud of the work I have done and of the colleagues who continue to serve with integrity, despite the challenges they face."
'Took That Oath to Heart'
"When I joined public service, I took an oath—to support and defend the Constitution, to serve with integrity, and to uphold the values that define our democracy. I took that oath to heart. And now, more than ever, it's time to roll up my sleeves and get to work."
"I won't be silent about what is happening to our government. The stakes are too high, and the truth matters. Now more than ever, we need to speak up and defend the institutions that serve the American people and the world."
UC Davis Professors
Her UC Davis professors are saddened, embarrassed and disappointed.
"The unplanned and thoughtless cutting of USAID is a national disgrace!" wrote Reisen, professor emeritus, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology School of Veterinary Medicine, responding to our email on Feb. 25. "Excellent and important food and health programs have been eliminated without consideration of the havoc created for the recipients as well as those employees careers and lives. I am embarrassed....."
Cornell sent us this email on Feb. 25: "I am deeply saddened to read that malaria control was not deemed an important contribution that USAID makes internationally against the scourge of malaria...I honestly would have thought that saving children's lives would withstand the cost-cutting effects of the new government. I am disappointed to say the least."
Facebook Tributes
Jenny's Facebook followers supported her en masse:
- "My daughter, you have accomplished so much in your life thus far, always putting the most effort into others wellness before your own. You are my rock, my inspiration and I am proud of you. The world needs you more than ever!!! I know this is really difficult (crying as I type) but I know this is not an end .. rather a beginning."
- "You do important work that matters and we're all very proud of you. Such a shame."
- "Jenny Carlson Donnelly was a fellow UC Davis graduate student and member of the Landbird Monitoring Team at Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. She's an incredible scientist, relentless humanitarian, dedicated mother, and dear friend. Like countless other public servants, Jenny bravely published her story online. Sadly, it's not just Jenny...several friends and former colleagues at Fish & Wildlife, Forest Service, and National Parks have lost their livelihoods and/or coworkers during these past two weeks. My heart aches."
- This is a friend of mine from college who worked her tail off and has been on a mission to improve the world we live in ever since we graduated. How on Earth anyone could deem the work of USAID unnecessary is beyond my comprehension. We are better than this. I have faith that democracy will not fail in the end and we will rise stronger than ever before, but until then I can only say thank you for all you've done...and to please not let your light stop shining--the world is a better place because of your service."
- "So eloquently written, Jenny. I am so proud of you, of having been one of your teachers, and of being witness to the incredible work you have done with USAID. I look into the eyes of the children in your photos and wonder what obstacles they will now encounter. May God bless you and your colleagues, your family, and bring you strength in this most difficult time. Love you."
- "Thank you Jenny, for your service. So much great work by you and the USAID, so hard to see it all dismantled."
- "Jenny dedicated years of her career to global health at USAID, working tirelessly within the President's Malaria Initiative. She wasn't just doing a job—she was part of a mission to save lives, fighting one of the deadliest diseases in the world. That work mattered. Jenny will land on her feet. She's too talented not to. But that doesn't make this any less wrong."
We asked Dr. Jenny her plans. She replied Feb. 25: "I am not sure what is next, now that the job I love is dead….but I'm happy to try new things out for sure! I'm devastated, but I'm ok….I am just so worried as to what is going to happen to science in this country…"
Jenny. One of us.
(Editor's Note: We sought permission from Dr. Jenny Carlson Donnelly, our UC Davis doctoral alumna and medical entomologist, to publish her Facebook piece and to craft this post)
