1. Social equality & disease. Locally-acquired malaria returned to USA in 2023 after a long absence. Several patients were exposed to mosquitoes b/c unhoused. Malaria may become re-established here just because we fail to shelter everyone. Also, I’ve long thought of schistosomiasis as a disease of poverty but it is also a disease of misogyny: female genital infection is one of the worst forms, largely dismissed by male-dominated culture. Empowering women to help each other will be key solution.

2. Taking molecular biology to the field. I saw my first LAMP machine, an amazing new tech for genotyping DNA quickly without fancy equipment or even refrigeration needed, easy for a non-specialist to use. Several talks (including my own on snails) showed work done on natural biological populations in the low-income countries where they occur, that was once only done in labs in US/Europe.

3. Genomics of neglected diseases. Malaria has been at the forefront of genomics research since the early days, but other parasitic and/or tropical diseases have lagged behind. No longer. Genomes of obscure worms like raccoon roundworm are here. Genome-wide association studies of conditions like lymphedema/hydrocele caused by worms and rarely seen in developed countries, are here. Specific amino acids that convey resistance to anthelmintic drugs are known and studied.