About Us
The VectorED Network was established as a Vector-borne Disease (VBD) Training and Evaluation Center (TEC) via a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to build VBD prevention and control capacity through training and evaluation of programming, and creating partnerships with academic, federal, local, and state institutions in the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio River Valley.
We believe the infrastructure to increase and improve training, education, and evaluation of vectors (e.g., ticks and mosquitoes) and VBDs is already in place but there is a need to expand and connect this infrastructure for coordinated and comprehensive messaging.
Established academic partners, public health entities as well as veterinarian and vector control societies, recreational stakeholder groups, and University services such as college health services, environmental health and safety, and Cooperative Extension (Extension) are established in many at-risk community groups and provide a critical network for focus groups to deliver VBD education and training.
Knowledge empowers; action protects.
(1) Student training: Train undergraduate and graduate students to increase capacity for VBD response.
(2) Targeted training: Develop, optimize, and evaluate targeted education for VBD prevention and control.
(3) Leveraging education networks: Expand the capacity of education networks (including the Cooperative Extension Service, National Pest Management Association, veterinary organizations, and University-level education through environmental health and safety, university health services, and faculty teaching students in at-risk professional degrees) to provide transformative education and training on VBDs.
(4) Evaluation: Evaluate current VBD prevention and control methods.
