ISTM

I am interested in host-parasite interactions, and developing control measures through a greater understanding of vector behaviour and chemical ecology. At Keele, I am working with Dr Gordon Hamilton to develop novel methods of control effective against Lutzomyia longipalpis, the sand fly vector of leishmaniasis in Brazil.

Currently, I am Project Manager on a Wellcome Trust Strategic Translation award, developing a pheromone-based system for reducing leishmaniasis in dogs.

Previously, I have worked with Prof. Jenny Mordue at Aberdeen University, on a project aimed at capturing and monitoring sea lice (parasites of farmed and wild salmon) through use of pheromones and attractive host chemicals.

I undertook my PhD at the University of Liverpool, supervised by Dr Paula Stockley, Prof. Jane Hurst and Prof. Malcolm Bennett. Through application of a variety of techniques, I investigated several aspects of host-parasite ecology in a wild mammal, the European common shrew (Sorex araneus). As an undergraduate, I worked with Prof. Chris Barnard and Prof. Jerzy Benke, on a project investigating helminth communities in Polish woodland rodents.

I completed a Medici business training fellowship in 2009, and am a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.

• Bray DP, Alves GB, Dorval ME, Brazil RP & Hamilton JGC. 2010. Synthetic sex pheromone attracts the leishmaniasis vector Lutzomyia longipalpis to experimental chicken sheds treated with insecticide. Parasites and Vectors, 11, 3:16.

• Bray DP, Ward RD & Hamilton JGC. 2010. The chemical ecology of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) In: Olfaction in vector-host interactions (Eds. W Takken & BGJ Knols). Wageningen Academic Press, Wageningen

• Bray DP, Bandi KK, Brazil RP, Oliveira AG & Hamilton JGC. 2009. Synthetic sex pheromone attracts the leishmaniasis vector Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera Psychodidae) to traps in the field. Journal of Medical Entomology, 46, 428-34

• Bray DP & Hamilton JGC. 2007. Courtship behaviour in the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis, the New World vector of visceral leishmaniasis. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 21, 332-388

• Bray DP & Hamilton JGC. 2007. Host odour synergises the attraction of female Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 44, 779-787