Rhoel Dinglasan, Ph.D., MPH

Professor of Infectious Diseases

College of Veterinary Medicine

2024 Awardee

Rhoel Dinglasan works on developing new tools to combat malaria and arboviruses, which are transmitted by mosquitoes. Arboviruses — including dengue, Zika and West Nile — are increasingly a threat in Florida, while outbreaks of malaria are a persistent public health concern in the state.

Recruited to UF in 2016 through the university’s preeminence initiative, he was promoted to professor in 2020. Dinglasan’s accomplishments include creating a novel malaria vaccine and bringing it to clinical trial as well as developing and patenting an easy-to-use, saliva-based malaria test. He also pioneered a highly efficient system to study the elusive liver stage of the malaria parasite life cycle.

Dinglasan’s efforts have changed the face of vector biology and public health entomology globally, says Julie Moore, a professor and chair of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology.

“Dr. Dinglasan’s scholarly contributions clearly identify him as a preeminent innovator and leader in his discipline — vector-borne diseases — with a focus on malaria and arboviruses. He has combined his interdisciplinary expertise in molecular vector biology, virology, parasitology, vaccinology, biochemistry, mass spectrometry and public health to make major advances that protect not only the lives of Florida residents but people across the globe who are at risk for arbovirus and malaria infections,” Moore says.

Upon his arrival at UF, Dinglasan was awarded $10 million in federal funding to establish one of five inaugural regional centers of excellence in vector-borne diseases. With these resources, Dinglasan has supported the establishment of a community of vector biologists and public health entomologists across 12 southeastern states and two Caribbean territories. The accomplishments he facilitated through this project resulted in another $10 million in renewed funding to UF in 2022.

In the past five years, Dinglasan’s grants have exceeded $31 million. He also recently received a prestigious federal malaria research grant of more than $3.7 million. That puts Dinglasan at the very top of research funding in the College of Veterinary Medicine and among the top 20% at UF, Moore says. Since 2019, Dinglasan has published in 39 leading scientific journals. His 100 publications have accumulated 4,899 citations