Mark Benedict Email & Phone Number

Atlanta, Ga Usa

Atlanta, Ga

Consulting on the selection, application and deployment of genetic control. Expertise includes: production, strain maintenance, testing, training, organization and facility design.

Atlanta, Ga

I currently coordinate CDC and African insectary activities on behalf of a Grand Challenges project entitled Target Malaria. I have an active interest in the use of conventional and transgenic technologies for genetic control of mosquitoes. More broadly, I feel there is little effective malaria vector control and would like to explore various area-wide methods.

Atlanta, Ga Usa

Extensive experience and mature, practical perspective on all components of creation, development and use of genetic control: applications, facility design, insect mass production, biosafety and regulation. This rapidly developing field has the potential to widely transform insect control.I have worked in the research and management of genetic control for much of my career and have been based variously with the IAEA (Vienna), University of Perugia (Italy) and at the CDC (Atlanta). My current principal consultancy is with Target Malaria (Target Malaria) in the insectary working group guiding transgenic insectary development in three African countries. Additionally, I have provided advice and consultancy services around the world including the U.K., the U.S.A., South Africa, Sudan, French Polynesia, Australia, Réunion Island, Burkina Faso, Mali, Uganda, Kenya and Argentina.Specialties: insect mass production, insectary design, insect biosafety, transgenic mosquito production and use, insect repository operation, genetically modified insect biosafety and use, molecular biology of mosquitoes, gene drive, individual and group training, experimental designInnovative but often simple solutions to problems. Adding value and perspective to projects to increase their value and feasibility.

Perugia, Italy

My responsibilities include developing indoor and outdoor trial facilities for genetic control of mosquitoes and exploring options for genetic control of Aedes albopictus in Italy. I also have strong links to a Grand Challenges in Global Health program to develop homing endonuclease genes as controls for Anopheles gambiae, an important African malaria vector. I am also serving as the work group leader for the INFRAVEC "Virtual Insectary."

Ph.D., Entomology

B.S., Zoology