Johns Hopkins University partnership with the Maryland Innovation Initiative looks to eliminate risks mosquitoes bring

Mosquitoes are one of many vectors – insects that can transmit infectious pathogens among humans, or from animals to humans. According to the World Health Organization, “vector-borne diseases account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases, causing more than 700,000 deaths annually.”. This is where Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) awardee George Dimopoulos, Ph.D., MBA, is stepping in. A professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dimopoulos is studying vector-borne diseases and possible ways to render mosquitoes – what he deems “the deadliest animal on the planet” – incapable of transmitting human pathogens.