More than 1 million people around the world die annually from malaria and other infectious diseases carried by flying insects, from mosquitoes to flies. Pesticides have a limited efficacy and are hazardous to human health and the environment.
Mechanical engineer and biological locomotion expert Rajat Mittal is taking a different approach. He’s teaming up with Anthony Cammarato of the School of Medicine and George Dimopoulos of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute to use sound to repel flying pests.
“We are excited about this project because the potential for impact on human health is so significant,” Mittal says.
The approach recently earned the team a Cohen Translational Fund grant.