Primary Department: Public Health Services
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Leah Barton ─ Executive Director
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Award
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Texas A&M AgriLife Research
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with Texas A&M AgriLife Research for the study of pesticides, and experimental, candidate pesticidal molecules, and pesticide resistance on vectors.
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Background and Discussion:
Field cage tests and bottle bioassays are used to measure insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. Collecting mosquitoes from areas that have more frequent pesticide application, rearing them, and completing these tests requires a great deal of time and effort. Once testing is complete, eggs, live adults, dead adults, and other life stages remain. These remaining specimens have already served their purpose in resistance study and are normally discarded. Using them for other research makes use of material that has already been collected instead of letting it go to waste.
Collecting mosquitoes for resistance testing is labor-intensive and can take weeks or months to complete. Reusing the specimens that remain after testing is a practical way to get more value from that work.
The remaining eggs, live adults, dead adults, and other life stages can be used in future research studies without affecting the original resistance results. This approach also reduces the need to collect additional mosquitoes from the field and avoids wasting samples that still have research value.
Expected Impact:
Using specimens that remain after resistance testing has been completed eliminates the need for additional field collections and makes better use of samples that would otherwise be discarded. Repurposing these materials for research also reduces long-term storage needs at Mosquito and Vector Control Division (MVCD) while giving the specimens a second purpose that contributes to mosquito and vector research. The information gained from these materials can support future studies on mosquito biology, insecticide resistance, and support answering other public health questions. This work will also increase MVCD's participation in regional research on Aedes mosquitoes that transmit Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika viruses, helping improve our understanding of how these mosquitoes develop and maintain resistance to pesticides. Overall, this approach makes better use of the time and resources invested in collecting and testing mosquitoes, reduces waste, and strengthens our ability to respond to current and emerging vector-borne disease threats.
Alternative Options:
Reusing these specimens reduces long-term storage demands at MVCD and provides material for future research without affecting the internal resistance study. This approach supports responsible resource utilization while contributing to mosquito and vector research that cannot be conducted at MVCD.
Researchers’ work can result in expanding our impact and future potential collaborators.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 4. Improve physical and mental health outcomes across all communities.
County Strategic Plan Objective: N: Improve the health behaviors of community members.
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Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Anticipated Court Date: 8/25/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 8/25/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Dr. Courtney Standlee, Director of Mosquito and Vector Control Division, Public Health Services
Attachments (if applicable): Material Transfer Agreement