Nsa Dada, PhD

Nsa Dada, PhD

Founder and Lead
Mosquito Microbiome Consortium

Research overview

Drawing from a multidisciplinary background and expertise in entomology, parasitology, microbiology, genomics and bioinformatics, I am broadly interested in understanding the microbial mechanisms that underlie diverse living and non-living systems. I have led or been involved in research at the intersection of the (micro)biology, ecology/microbial ecology, evolution and control of parasites and disease vectors at leading research and public health institutions around the world, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Research Institute Pour Le Développement, France; the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research; Kenya Medical Research Insititute; the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin and Prince of Songkla University, Thailand.

My research efforts are now largely concentrated on the evolution of microbe-mediated phenotypic variations in multicellular organisms as a function of biotic and abiotic factors. I currently lead a research program that is aimed at understanding how microbes (both host and environmentally-derived) shape the evolution of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. And I use a combination of molecular, ‘omics and classsical (micro)biology tools, as well as bioinformatics, to explore this in wild mosquito populations and/or their progeny in laboratory settings. I also founded and lead the Mosquito Microbiome Consortium, a collaborative initiative for advancing mosquito microbiome research, particularly from laboratory to field applications. I am highly involved in other initiatives (for example G-AVENIR) that are focused on expanding disease vector genomics research in Africa–in particular, I am working towards establishing sustainable bioinformatics resources and capacity on the continent.

I am driven by a passion for mentoring and training the next generation of scientists, as well as closing the gaps in research capacity, talent and resources in the Global South, particularly Africa.

Interests

  • Microbial ecology
  • Insect physiology & ecology
  • Evolution & (meta)genomics
  • Disease vector biology • ecology • control & ‘omics
  • Bioinformatics
  • Open, responsible & reproducible science

Education

  • PhD in Microbiology, 2014

    Norwegian University of Life Sciences

  • MSc in Biology & Control of Parasites & Disease Vectors, 2009

    Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

  • BSc in Zoology, 2007

    University of Calabar

Expertise and technical skills

Classical Biology

Insect physiology, ecology, sampling & curation | Other biological & environmental material including, stool, water & eDNA

Molecular Biology

NGS, (meta)genomics, metabarcoding, transcriptomics

Microbial Ecology

living & non-living systems

Research design & methods

Quantitative research & (meta)genomics

R & RStudio

Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Dataviz, Website design, open/reproducible science

Unix/Linux

Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Dataviz

Python

Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Dataviz

GitHub

Open science, reproduciblity, version control

Proficient in the use of:

Bioconductor, Qiime2, MEGAN, Diamond, Anvi’o, Galaxy etc

Learn more

I am always open to new collaborations, speaking engagements, media interviews and/or just chatting about mosquitoes and microbes 😊
To contact me for any of the above reasons, please use this form.