Distinguished Professor Thomas Scott of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Professor Shirley Luckhart of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology have been selected fellows of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).

They were honored at a recent meeting of ASTMH in New Orleans for their sustained professional excellence in their field. Fellows are selected for their work in "any phase of tropical medicine, hygiene, global health and related disciplines," ASTMH officials said.

Scott, internationally known for his work with on the ecology and epidemiology of dengue, focuses his work on contributing to improved public health in the United States and in the developing world, where resources are inadequate and help is desperately needed.  His expertise centers on mosquito-transmitted disease; the bulk of his work is on dengue.

Scott received his doctorate in ecology from Pennsylvania State University, and worked as an epidemiology post-doctoral scholar at the Yale School of Medicine.

Luckhart's expertise includes the molecular cell biology and biochemistry of malaria parasite transmission. Closely  associated with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, she serves asa graduate student advisor and interim co-director of the UC Davis-based Center for Vectorborne Diseases. Luckhart received her doctorate in entomology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

ASTMH, founded in 1903, is a worldwide organization of scientists, clinicians and program professionals whose mission is to promote global health through the prevention and control of infectious and other diseases that disproportionately afflict the global poor. Research, health care and education are the central activities of ASTMH members, whose work bridges basic laboratory research to international field work and clinics to countrywide programs.

Specific ASTMH goals include:

• Improving the health of people worldwide
• Advancing research in tropical diseases
• Fostering international scientific collaboration
• Supporting career development in tropical medicine and global health
• Educating medical professionals, policymakers and the public about tropical medicine and global health
• Promoting science-based policy regarding tropical medicine and global health
• Recognizing exceptional achievement in tropical medicine and global health