Dr. Edward D. “Ned” Walker is a professor of entomology and microbiology at Michigan State University. He serves as the PI of the Michigan State University contribution to the MCE-VBD. His interests include surveillance for vector-borne diseases, analysis of landscape and environment associations with risk of establishment and perpetuation of disease foci, and generally biology and control of mosquitoes and ticks. Some of his work has to do with questions related to the surveillance, or monitoring, of pest populations: how do we adequately capture diversity of mosquitoes and ticks in nature, and quantify changes in their distribution and abundance in space and time? If ticks or mosquitoes are present in locales, what pathogens are associated with them and do these pathogens pose risk of infection in people? For his work with MCE-VBD, Ned will focus on evaluating current control methods and testing new methods. He will also contribute to surveillance programs and to training and capacity-building.