Team

MEET THE CREW

Dinglasan Lab Team

Dr. Rhoel Dinglasan

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Dinglasan is a professor at the University of Florida, Associate Chair of Research in Department of Infectious Diseases & Immunology and the Director, CDC Southeastern Center of Excellence for Vector Borne Diseases

Luis A. Alonso-Palomares

POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE

Luis A. Alonso Palomares, hails from Mexico. He is a biologist by profession, and completed his master’s and PhD degrees in immunology. His virologist soul is interested in public health, particularly in the arbovirus field. He investigates virus-vector relationships, from researching comparative immunology, molecular mechanisms, to completing surveillance and developing vaccines. He likes to exercise outdoors, play volleyball, go to the movies, and spend time outside with a good beer.

Bright Agbodzi

PHD STUDENT

Bright Agbodzi hails from Ghana, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Molecular Biology. He is currently a PhD student at the UF Genetics Institute, with a keen interest in applying omics to understand host-virus interactions and the molecular evolution of viruses. In his free time, he enjoys watching and playing soccer

Alaina Keith

MSC STUDENT

Alaina Keith is pursuing a Master’s in Infectious Diseases and Immunology. She hopes to launch a career surveying infectious diseases in canine shelter populations. In her free time, she can be found with one of my numerous rescue animals or somewhere exploring outside.

John “Jack” F. Williams​

INSECTARY SUPPORT TECHNICIAN​

Jack is an insectary support technician with an undergraduate degree in entomology. His focus is on medical entomology, particularly mosquito vector-borne diseases. In his free time, he enjoys hiking through nature preserves throughout Florida and playing water polo. . 

Kassidy Caride

PROGRAM COORDINATOR - US & CARIBBEAN

Kassidy Caride has her Master of Public Health degree and her interests lie in project coordination and vector-borne diseases. She is new to the Dinglasan lab and delighted to join the team. In her free time, she enjoys walking the beach with her dog. 

Sofia Toledo

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Sofia Toledo is an undergrad from south Florida pursuing dual bachelor’s degrees in Microbiology and English. Outside of lab she is involved in the GRiP prosthetics club and Model United Nations. In her free time she likes to play board games, bake, and go to the springs with friends.

Jonas Kengne Ouafo

POSTDOCTORATE ASSOCIATE

Jonas is a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Florida, focusing on the biology of disease-causing agents, particularly malaria, and their vectors, with an emphasis on disease transmission and insecticide resistance. His primary objective is to identify biomarkers that can inform the development of improved disease control interventions. He recently used genomics (PoolSeq) to identify loci associated with pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles gambiae (a major malaria vector).

Jonas earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology of Infectious Diseases from the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana.

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Latest News

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UF Malaria Researcher and Global Partners Win NIH Award for New International Center of Excellence

UF Malaria Researcher and Global Partners Win NIH Award for New International Center of Excellence

The cooperative agreement, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will establish a new International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research (ICEMR) focused

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UF Professor of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Rhoel Dinglasan, discusses the new saliva COVID tests

UF Professor of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Rhoel Dinglasan, discusses the new saliva COVID tests

Watch WCJB TV20 video here.

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First in human clinical trials of the AnAPN1 malaria transmission-blocking vaccine

First in human clinical trials of the AnAPN1 malaria transmission-blocking vaccine

Former director of the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, Christian Loucq, M.D., says it is exciting to see Dinglasan’s concept moving toward a clinical trial. “There

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