Dr. Peter Dambach

PhD, MSc

Health Geographer, Vector Control Specialist

Peter Dambach, Diplom Geographer (University of Cologne, Germany), PhD (University of Heidelberg,  Germany) works on the assessment of environmentally induced malaria risk via remote sensing in Burkina Faso, West Africa and targeting of areas at elevated risk with new, integrated malaria control methods. Another focus of his work are control and ecology of other vector borne diseases such as Dengue, working in Thailand and Sri Lanka.  Prior to his current position, he worked in Douala, Cameroon on environmental and socio-economic variables, influencing Cholera.

Education

Languages

German (native), English (proficient), French (proficient), Bambara (intermediate), Swahili (intermediate)

Projects

• On-site consultant in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Projects HPM2 and HAALSI
  01/2017-ongoing
  Involved at: Together with Harvard School of Public Health at two field sites: Muhimbili University and Management and Development for Health, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  Study overview: HPM2: HIV and health status of female bar workers.
  HAALSI: Aging populations and health in an urban context in sub-Saharan Africa
   
• Scientific Manager EMIRA Project– Ecologic Malaria Reduction for Africa
  04/2013-05/2016
  Involved at: University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
  Nouna Health Research Center (CRSN), Nouna, Burkina Faso      
  Study overview: Three year intervention trial on ecologic malaria reduction in a health district in North-Western Burkina Faso using biological larvicides
   
• Co-work package leader in the FP7 Project Dengue Tools
  09/2011–03/2016
  Involved at: University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
  Center of Excellence for Vectors and Vector-Borne Diseases, Mahidol University, Nkhon Pathom, Thailand
  Ministry of Health, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  Study overview: Spatio-temporal risk for dengue and novel approaches for disease transmission control
   
• Co-project leader in PaluClim – Remote sensing of malaria risk
  01/2011–04/2014
  Involved at: University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
  French Space Agency (CNES), Toulouse, France
  Nouna Health Research Center (CRSN), Nouna, Burkina Faso   
  Study overview: Researching the climatic and geographic determinants for malaria transmission in rural Burkina Faso. Development of prediction models and remote sensing based risk maps.

Teaching

Teaching in Postgraduate courses in English and French language
05/2009–present
Selected courses tought within the TropEd network (master in international public health):

• Disease control – Strategies and policies
• Climate change and health / malaria
• Public health and disaster management
• Vector borne diseases in a changing environment
• The role of Bti for Malaria control in sub-Saharan Africa
• Introduction to remote sensing for natural hazards
• The influence of El Niño / Southern Oscillation on global health

Training & Consultancy

Training of health and field personnel in theory and practice
06/2010 – 12/2015
Selected trainings/consultancies partly within research projects (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Thailand, Malawi):

• Consulting on biological vector control, spraying techniques
• Awareness seminars – Community based malaria vector control
• GPS as an easy tool to map vector larvae breeding sites
• Entomological field methods to assess the success of vector control
• Use of measuring sondes to assess water suitability for cholera
• Handling and resource efficient use of biolarvicides

Scholarships

• Individual doctoral scholarship of the federal state Baden Württemberg, Germany
  01/2009 – 12/2011
  Individual Doctoral Scholarship of the Graduate Academy “Landesgraduiertenförderung Baden Württemberg” within the initiative for excellence of the Heidelberg University
   
• Grant for M.Sc. fieldwork
  02/2006 – 04/2006
  DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) grant to perform the M.Sc. fieldwork in Douala, Cameroon

Publications

Dambach, P., Schleicher, M., Korir, P., Ouedraogo, S., Dambach, J., Sié, A., Dambach, M., Becker, N. Nightly biting cycles of Anopheles species in rural Northwestern Burkina Faso. Journal of Medical Entomology 2018, doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjy043

Dambach, P., Jorge, M.M., Traoré, I., Phalkey, R., Sawadogo, H., Zabré, P., Kagoné, M., Sié, A., Sauerborn, R., Becker, N., Beiersmann, C., 2018. A qualitative study of community perception and acceptance of biological larviciding for malaria mosquito control in rural Burkina Faso. BMC Public Health 18, 399.

Dambach P. New approaches for integrated and cost-effective malaria vector control. Journ. Rare Dis. Treat. 2018; 3:6–10.

Dambach, P, Traoré, I, Kaiser, A, Sié, A, Sauerborn, R, Becker, N, 2016. Challenges of implementing a large scale larviciding campaign against malaria in rural Burkina Faso – Lessons learned and recommendations derived from The EMIRA project. BMC Public Health; 16:1023.

Dambach, P, Stahl, HC, Schleicher, M, Traoré, I, Kaiser, A, Sié, A, Becker, N, Sauerborn, R, 2016. Routine implementation costs of larviciding with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis against malaria vectors in a district in rural Burkina Faso. Malaria Journal, 15:380.

Ratanawong P, Kittayapong P, Olanratmanee P, Wilder-Smith A, Byass P, Tozan Y, Dambach, P, et al. Spatial Variations in Dengue Transmission in Schools in Thailand. PloS One. 2016;11:e0161895.

Vignolles C, Sauerborn R, Dambach P, Viel C, Soubeyroux J-M, Sié A, et al. Re-emerging malaria vectors in rural Sahel (Nouna, Burkina Faso): The Paluclim Project ISPRS - Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. S. pat. Inf. Sci. 2016;XLI-B8:237–42.

Becher, H, Müller, O, Dambach, P, et al. 2016. Decreasing child mortality, spatial clustering, and decreasing disparity in north-western Burkina Faso. Tropical Medicine and International Health;21(4):546-555, doi: 10.1111/tmi.12673.

Dambach P, Traoré I, Becker N, Kaiser A, Sié A, Sauerborn R. EMIRA: Ecologic Malaria Reduction for Africa – innovative tools for integrated malaria control. Glob. Health Action [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2015 Jan 9];7. Available from: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4223283/

Louis, V, Phalkey, R, Horstick, O, Ratanawong, P, Wilder-Smith, A, Tozan, Y, Dambach, P, 2014. Parameters and methods for dengue risk mapping - a systematic review. Int. J. Health Geogr. 13, 50

Dambach, P, Louis, VR, Kaiser, A, Ouedraogo, S, Sié, A, Sauerborn, R, Becker, N, 2014. Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis against malaria mosquitoes in Northwestern Burkina Faso. Parasit. Vectors 7, 371.

Nana Yakam, A, Noeske, J, Dambach, P, Bowong, S, Fono, LA, Ngatchou-Wandji, J, 2014. Spatial analysis of tuberculosis in Douala, Cameroon: clustering and links with socio-economic status. Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. 18, 292–297.

Dambach, P., Machault, V., Lacaux, J.P., Vignolles, C., Sie, A., Sauerborn, R., 2012. Utilization of combined remote sensing techniques to detect environmental variables influencing malaria vector densities in rural West Africa. IntJHealth Geogr 11, 8–20.

Dambach, P., Sié, A., Lacaux, J.-P., Vignolles, C., Machault, V., Sauerborn, R., 2009. Using high spatial resolution remote sensing for risk mapping of malaria occurrence in the Nouna district, Burkina Faso. Glob. Health Action 2.