Malaria Control Program


Frank O. Richards Jr., M.D., Director, Malaria Control Program, River Blindness Program, Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program, and Schistosomiasis Control Program
 
An expert in parasitic and tropical diseases from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Richards has worked extensively in Latin America and Africa. He directs the river blindness program and the Center's schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis in Nigeria. He also supervises the Center's new malaria control initiative in Ethiopia. Dr. Richards holds faculty appointments at the Emory Rollins School of Public Health (Global Health), the Emory School of Medicine, and Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, and is on staff at two Atlanta hospitals--Grady Memorial and Egleston Children's Hospital.


Dr. Richards' career has focused on issues of global health, most of them dedicated to disease control and eradication in the Americas and Africa. He worked on schistosomiasis control in Egypt, Guinea worm eradication in Cameroon, lymphatic filariasis in Haiti and Nigeria, and malaria control in Guatemala. Dr. Richards' particular expertise is in onchocerciasis (river blindness) and the delivery of Mectizan® tablets (donated by Merck & Co.) through mass drug administration programs. He has been involved in the Guatemalan Mectizan distribution program since 1987 and in the Nigerian Mectizan distribution program since 1992. He participated in the launching and operations of two major regional river blindness programs: The Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas (launched in 1992), which reaches six countries in the Americas, and the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (launched in 1996) reaching 18 countries in Africa.

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Paul Emerson, Ph.D., Co-Director, Malaria Control Program;  Director, Trachoma Control Program

Dr. Emerson joined The Carter Center as director for the Trachoma Control Program in November 2004.   He has spent nearly a decade devoted to operational research and program evaluation in support of the global effort to control trachoma. Dr. Emerson was named co-director of the Malaria Control Program in 2006, and oversees the program's integration with trachoma control activities in Ethiopia.

Before joining The Carter Center, Dr. Emerson was a research fellow at the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. There he was the principal investigator for evaluations of Helen Keller International and World Vision trachoma control programs in Morocco, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nepal, Vietnam, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, in addition to leading operational research in The Gambia and lecturing.

Previously, as principal investigator, Dr. Emerson led the United Kingdom Medical Research Council in The Gambia in conducting the first rigorous study establishing the importance of flies in trachoma transmission and the impact of latrines on trachoma control. He also has led a project to write a practical toolbox for trachoma program managers to implement the 'F' and 'E' components of the SAFE strategy for trachoma control: Surgery; Antibiotic treatment; Facial cleanliness/hygiene promotion; and Environmental improvement.

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Patricia Graves, MSPH. Ph.D., Epidemiologist, Malaria Control Program
 
Dr. Graves joined The Carter Center in January 2007.  As program epidemiologist, Dr. Graves provides scientific support to the Center's Malaria Control Program. 
 
An epidemiologist and entomologist, Dr. Graves has 25 years experience in applied research and project management in vector-borne disease epidemiology and control, including 11 years advising aid agencies and national governments in Asia, the Pacific, and Africa.  She contributed key knowledge to malaria transmission dynamics during a large malaria entomological research project in Papua New Guinea, which she directed.  Her recent significant contributions, particularly in Solomon Islands and Eritrea, include the use of evidence and information to assess and improve the effectiveness of control measures for malaria and filariasis, especially indoor residual spraying and impregnated nets.
 
Dr. Graves received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Cambridge University in 1976.  She earned her doctorate in science from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1980 and her master's degree in public health from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 1996. 

Aryc W. Mosher, M.P.H, Assistant Director, Malaria Control Program

Mr. Mosher supports the Carter Center's integrative approach within the Malaria Control Program though assisting the collaborative efforts of the directors of the Trachoma and River Blindness Control Programs. Prior to this position, Mr. Mosher served as resident technical adviser in Ghana for the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program from 2004-2005 and as assistant director of the program until 2007.
 
Prior to joining The Carter Center, Mr. Mosher worked for a non-profit agency dedicated to improving the quality of life for migrant and seasonal farm workers throughout Michigan. Mr. Mosher gained extensive field experience spending more than 15 years volunteering, working, and researching in Mali, West Africa; beginning as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in 1990. In 2001, he worked for the Stop Transmission of Polio Campaign in Chad.

Mr. Mosher received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Michigan State University and a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from the University of Michigan. In 1998, Mr. Mosher was awarded a National Security and Education Program Fellowship which supported public health research in Mali.