Research Areas

(1). Malaria vector ecology and behavior (2). Insecticide resistance monitoring and molecular mechanisms (3). Larval habitat characterization and larval source management (LSM) (4). Molecular surveillance and diagnostics for vector–parasite systems (5). Geospatial analysis of vector exposure and malaria risk for targeted control (6). Vector control product testing and evaluation, including next-generation tools (e.g next-gen ITNs, novel insecticide formulations, attractant targeted sugar baits, spatial repellents and transgenic approaches to vector control),

Profile

Dr Justin Kumala is a Medical Entomologist and Lecturer in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Health Sciences at the University of Malawi. He holds a PhD in Medical Entomology (University of the Witwatersrand) and has over 12 years of experience in entomological surveillance, insecticide-resistance monitoring, and vector ecology across southern Africa. He has an MSc in molecular biology of parasites and disease vectors from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (2013-2014). His work integrates field and laboratory research, molecular surveillance and geospatial analysis to inform evidence-based vector control and policy. He teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses, supervises both undergraduate and prograduate research projects, and is a member of the Postgraduate Programme Coordination Unit in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. Dr Kumala maintains collaborations with the Malaria Alert Center at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, the Wits Research Institute for Malaria (WRIM) and the Vector Control Reference Laboratory at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) Jonannesburg, South Africa. He is also a fellow and graduate of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA).

Publications

• Journal Article
  Chiphwanya, J., Mkwanda, S., … Kumala, J., et al 2024 Elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem in Malawi. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024 Feb 16;18(2):e0011957. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011957. PMID: 38363794; PMCID: PMC10903958 (2024)
  https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0011957

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• Journal Article
  Kumala, J., Koekemoer, L.L., Coetzee, M. et al. Intensity of insecticide resistance in the major malaria vector Anopheles funestus from Chikwawa, rural Southern Malawi. Parasites Vectors 15, 220 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-022-05299-3 (2022)
  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-022-05299-3

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• Journal Article
  Maekawa, Y., Pemba, D., Kumala, J., Gowelo, S., Higa, Y., Futami, K., Sawabe, K. and Tsuda, Y., 2021. DNA barcoding of mosquitoes collected through a nationwide survey in 2011 and 2012 in Malawi, Southeast Africa. Acta Tropica, 213, p.105742. (2021)
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001706X20316557

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