Michelle Ayuritolya Asigbaase is a Medical Entomologist and an Assistant Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Applied Biology (CeRAB) of the University of Energy and Natural Resources with a special interest in monitoring insecticide resistance in malaria vectors as well as researching into Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
Before joining UENR she worked at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research since 2010, rising from the position of Research Assistant in 2011 to that of Chief Research Assistant in 2022.
Her PhD research focuses on genetic changes of the malaria vector associated with insecticide resistance and the mechanisms involved. She has expertise in managing projects, project data, insectary management, research leading to the development of vector control tools and insecticide resistance monitoring in different mosquito species. Her research also focuses on evaluation and monitoring of the efficacy of Long-Lasting Insecticide nets (LLINs) and making the LLINs more effective in the control of the malaria vector. She is also into monitoring the infection rate of vectors of malaria and lymphatic filariasis.
She holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Entomology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana and a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Ghana, Legon. Her MPhil thesis focused on the species composition and insecticide resistance profile of malaria vectors across different ecological zones in Ghana. The project focused on the distribution of the Anopheles gambiae complex, insecticide susceptibility levels, and insecticide resistance mechanisms, with the overall goal of contributing to knowledge on species composition and susceptibility levels of Anopheles gambiae in Ghana. It complemented other studies in establishing the fact that insecticide-resistance management strategies and novel tools unaffected by knock down resistance and acetylcholinestearase-1 mutations should be employed in malaria control programmes or interventions in Ghana. Her BSc thesis focused on agro-ecological changes in a rice field and their effects on mosquito breeding at Okyereko in the Central Region.
Michelle has also contributed to surveillance and control of Aedes mosquitoes by evaluating the impact of some selected larvicides on Aedes and Anopheles larval populations. She is dedicated to malaria research with an overall aim of helping to improve global health free of mosquito-borne diseases.