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Staff Profile: Stefan Dongus
Stefan Dongus, M.Sc. Ph.D.
Appointment: Senior Research Assistant
Areas of interest: Malaria control and surveillance, urban agricultural land use, environmental health, developing simple GIS and mapping tools for operational use in disease control programmes
Background
Stefan Dongus joined LSTM in 2010, taking on a postdoctoral position as health geographer. He is seconded full-time to the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania (IHI), based in Dar es Salaam. Currently, Stefan is involved in two large projects: The first one is examining methods for the auto-dissemination of insecticides by mosquitoes, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The second project (www.avecnet.eu) is developing and evaluating new tools for malaria control in Africa, with Stefan's main focus being improving routine surveillance of malaria for better targetting of interventions, funded by the European Commission. Stefan holds a PhD in Public Health and Epidemiology from the Swiss Tropical and Public Institute in Basel, Switzerland, and a MSc degree in Geography and Mathematics from the University of Freiburg, Germany.
Research
Stefan's main interest is the participatory use of geographical tools such as basic geographical information system (GIS) platforms for research and disease control interventions. Current research activities comprise the impact of environmental factors on larval habitats and malaria transmission risk, spatial aspects of mosquito behavior, ecology and control, and integrated vector management. Past activities include operational research related to malaria control and urban agricultural land use in Tanzania, which has been carried out in close collaboration with the Dar es Salaam City Council and IHI. Earlier on, Stefan has been involved in a EU-funded development programme working on integrated solid waste management and urban food security in the Philippines.
Teaching
Stefan Dongus is supervising and mentoring several MSc and PhD students at the Ifakara Health Institute, which hosts one of the largest malaria-vector research teams in Africa involving over 20 postgraduate students from Tanzania and Kenya.
Recent Publications
Chaki, Prosper P, Dongus, Stefan, Fillinger, Ulrike, Kelly, Ann and Killeen, Gerry (2011) 'Community-owned resource persons for malaria vector control: enabling factors and challenges in an operational programme in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania'. Human Resources for Health, Vol 9, Issue 1, p. 21.
Harris, Caroline, Kihonda, Japhet, Lwetoijera, Dickson, Dongus, Stefan, Devine, Gregor and Majambere, Silas (2011) 'A simple and efficient tool for trapping gravid Anopheles at breeding sites'. Parasites & Vectors, Vol 4, Issue 1, p. 125.
Book Section
Dongus, Stefan, Mwakalinga, Victoria, Kannady, Khadija, Tanner, Marcel and Killeen, Gerry (2011) 'Participatory Mapping as a Component of Operational Malaria Vector Control in Tanzania' in: Maantay, J A and McLafferty, S, (eds) Geospatial Analysis of Environmental Health, Netherlands, Springer Science and Business Media BV, pp. 321-336.
Selected Publications
Dongus S, Mwakalinga V, Kannady K, Tanner M, Killeen GF (2011): Participatory mapping as a component of operational malaria vector control in Tanzania. In: Maantay J, McLafferty S, editors. Geospatial Analysis of Environmental Health. Geotechnologies and the Environment, Volume 4, Part 3, p. 321-336. Springer.
Harris C, Kihonda J, Lwetoijera D, Dongus S, Devine G, Majambere S (2011): A simple and efficient tool for trapping gravid Anopheles at breeding sites. Parasites & Vectors 4:125.
Dongus S, Pfeiffer C, Metta E, Mbuyita S, Obrist B (2010): Building multi-layered resilience in a malaria control programme in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Progress in Development Studies 10(4), p. 309–24.
Drechsel P, Dongus S (2010): Dynamics and sustainability of urban agriculture: examples from sub-Saharan Africa. Sustainability Science 5(1), p. 69-78.
Dongus S, Nyika D, Kannady K, Mtasiwa D, Mshinda H, Gosoniu L, Drescher AW, Fillinger U, Tanner M, Killeen GF, Castro MC (2009): Urban agriculture and Anopheles habitats in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Geospatial Health 3(2), p. 189-210.
Fillinger U, Kannady K, William G, Vanek MJ, Dongus S, Nyika D, Geissbühler Y, Chaki PP, Govella NJ, Mathenge EM, Singer BH, Mshinda H, Lindsay SW, Tanner M, Mtasiwa D, de Castro MC, Killeen GF (2008): A tool box for operational mosquito larval control: preliminary results and early lessons from the Urban Malaria Control Programme in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Malaria Journal 7:20.
Dongus S, Nyika D, Kannady K, Mtasiwa D, Mshinda H, Fillinger U, Drescher AW, Tanner M, Castro MC, Killeen GF (2007): Participatory mapping of target areas to enable operational larval source management to suppress malaria vector mosquitoes in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. International Journal of Health Geographics 6(1):37.
