Overview
Background
Dr. Lord leads the Spectroscopy Lab at the School of the Environment, the University of Queensland. Her interdisciplinary research is focused on
1. Modified diets for mass rearing of insects including Wolbachia, SIT and gene drive technologies
2. Monitoring and evaluation tools for vector control tools using infrared light and artificial intelligence.
3. Climate change and its impact on vector-borne diseases
As a Chief Investigator, Dr. Lord has secured research funding from several funding bodies including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, NHMRC, AQIRF, and Grand Challenges Canada to develop rapid tools for large-scale disease surveillance. With her recent funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, she is developing a smart trap for Ross River virus surveillance in partnership with Queensland Health.
Dr. Lord has published over 60 research works, and presented her findings at over 30 international conferences. Her groundbreaking research has been featured in hundreds of media outlets worldwide. Her contributions to global health have earned her numerous academic accolades, including being named a Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2024.
Beyond research, Dr. Lord leads the STEM Spotlight program, a STEM mentorship initiative that provides a safe and engaging space for students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. The program encourages students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in STEM while providing them the opportunity to be part of the STEM community in a safe space. In recognition of this work, she was awarded the Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award (2023) by the Department of Multicultural Affairs. Dr Lord has served/serves on numerous committees including the Australian of the year selection Committee (2023), the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Scientific Committee, Young investigator award committee (ASTMH), Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee (UQ).Between 2021-2024 she served as the vice president of African Professionals of Australia (QLD).
Current Research interests and PhD projects:
Techniques to enhance mass rearing of mosquitoes to support next generation vector control interventions
Climate change impacts on vector borne diseases
Availability
- Dr Maggy Lord is:
- Not available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University
Research interests
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Techniques to improve mass rearing of mosquitoes
Wolbachia strategies, SIT and gene-drive technologies
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Artificial intelligence
Development of AI tools for monitoring vector-borne diseases
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Climate change
Impact of climate change on mosquitoes including impact on interaction with interventions such as Wolbachia
Research impacts
Demonstrated the capacity of infrared and Artificial intelligence to
1. Characterise mosquito species into age, species and infection
2. Detect Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya in seconds non-invasively in mosquitoes
3. Detect Wolbachia in mosquitoes non-invasively
4. Detect Trypanosoma cruzi in Triatomine species and faecal samples
5. Detect malaria non-invasively through the skin of human subjects
6. Detect soil-transmitted helminths non-invasively in experimental mouse
Works
Search Professor Maggy Lord’s works on UQ eSpace
2021
Journal Article
High throughput estimates of Wolbachia, Zika and chikungunya infection in Aedes aegypti by near-infrared spectroscopy to improve arbovirus surveillance
Santos, Lilha M. B., Mutsaers, Mathijs, Garcia, Gabriela A., David, Mariana R., Pavan, Marcio G., Petersen, Martha T., Correa-Antonio, Jessica, Couto-Lima, Dinair, Maes, Louis, Dowell, Floyd, Lord, Anton, Sikulu-Lord, Maggy and Maciel-de-Freitas, Rafael (2021). High throughput estimates of Wolbachia, Zika and chikungunya infection in Aedes aegypti by near-infrared spectroscopy to improve arbovirus surveillance. Communications Biology, 4 (1) 67, 67. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-01601-0
2020
Journal Article
Influence of environmental factors on the detection of blood in sheep faeces using visible-near-infrared spectroscopy as a measure of Haemonchus contortus infection
Kho, Elise A., Fernandes, Jill N., Kotze, Andrew C., Fox, Glen P., Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T., Beasley, Anne M., Moore, Stephen S. and James, Peter J. (2020). Influence of environmental factors on the detection of blood in sheep faeces using visible-near-infrared spectroscopy as a measure of Haemonchus contortus infection. Parasites and Vectors, 13 (1) 591, 591. doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04468-6
2020
Journal Article
Visible-near infrared spectroscopy for detection of blood in sheep faeces
Kho, Elise A., Fernandes, Jill N., Kotze, Andrew C., Fox, Glen P., Lord, Maggy, Beasley, Anne M., Moore, Stephen S. and James, Peter J. (2020). Visible-near infrared spectroscopy for detection of blood in sheep faeces. Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy, 28 (5-6), 255-266. doi: 10.1177/0967033520927519
2020
Journal Article
Near-infrared spectroscopy evaluations for the differentiation of carbapenem-resistant from susceptible enterobacteriaceae strains
Alharbi, Bushra, Sikulu-Lord, Maggy, Lord, Anton, Zowawi, Hosam M. and Trembizki, Ella (2020). Near-infrared spectroscopy evaluations for the differentiation of carbapenem-resistant from susceptible enterobacteriaceae strains. Diagnostics, 10 (10) 736, 1-9. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10100736
2020
Journal Article
An autoencoder and artificial neural network-based method to estimate parity status of wild mosquitoes from near-infrared spectra
Milali, Masabho P., Kiware, Samson S., Govella, Nicodem J., Okumu, Fredros, Bansal, Naveen, Bozdag, Serdar, Charlwood, Jacques D., Maia, Marta F., Ogoma, Sheila B., Dowell, Floyd E., Corliss, George F., Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T. and Povinelli, Richard J. (2020). An autoencoder and artificial neural network-based method to estimate parity status of wild mosquitoes from near-infrared spectra. PLoS ONE, 15 (6) e0234557, e0234557. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234557
2020
Journal Article
Detection of Haemonchus contortus nematode eggs in sheep faeces using near and mid-infrared spectroscopy
Kho, Elise A., Fernandes, Jill N., Kotze, Andrew C., Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T., Fox, Glen P., Beasley, Anne M., Moore, Stephen S. and James, Peter J. (2020). Detection of Haemonchus contortus nematode eggs in sheep faeces using near and mid-infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy, 28 (5-6), 096703352092449-254. doi: 10.1177/0967033520924491
2020
Conference Publication
Shining a light on Haemonchus contortus in sheep
Kho, Elise, Fernandes, Jill, Kotze, Andrew, Lord, Maggy, Fox, Glen, Beasley, Anne, Moore, Stephen and James, Peter (2020). Shining a light on Haemonchus contortus in sheep. 3rd International Tropical Agriculture Conference (TROPAG 2019), Brisbane, Australia, 11–13 November 2019. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI. doi: 10.3390/proceedings2019036138
2019
Journal Article
Detection of malaria parasites in dried human blood spots using mid-infrared spectroscopy and logistic regression analysis
Mwanga, Emmanuel P., Minja, Elihaika G., Mrimi, Emmanuel, Jiménez, Mario González, Swai, Johnson K., Abbasi, Said, Ngowo, Halfan S., Siria, Doreen J., Mapua, Salum, Stica, Caleb, Maia, Marta F., Olotu, Ally, Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T., Baldini, Francesco, Ferguson, Heather M., Wynne, Klaas, Selvaraj, Prashanth, Babayan, Simon A. and Okumu, Fredros O. (2019). Detection of malaria parasites in dried human blood spots using mid-infrared spectroscopy and logistic regression analysis. Malaria Journal, 18 (1) 341, 341. doi: 10.1186/s12936-019-2982-9
2019
Journal Article
Age grading An. gambiae and An. arabiensis using near infrared spectra and artificial neural networks
Milali, Masabho P., Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T., Kiware, Samson S., Dowell, Floyd E., Corliss, George F. and Povinelli, Richard J. (2019). Age grading An. gambiae and An. arabiensis using near infrared spectra and artificial neural networks. PLoS One, 14 (8) e0209451, e0209451. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209451
2019
Conference Publication
Detection of arboviruses and parasites in mosquito vectors with a beam of light
Sikulu-Lord, Maggy, Garcia, Gabriela A., Santos, Lilha M., Fernandes, Jill N., Dowell, Floyd E. and Maciel-De-Freitas, Rafael (2019). Detection of arboviruses and parasites in mosquito vectors with a beam of light. 68th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), National Harbor, MD, United States, 20-24 November, 2019. Deerfield, IL, United States: American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.abstract2019
2019
Conference Publication
Developing alternative surveillance methods, from the near infrared spectroscopy to predict zika infection on aedes aegypti, to metagenomics to detect the invasion of new arboviruses and haplotypes
Pavan, Marcio G., Garcia, Gabriela A., Santos, Lilha M., David, Mariana R., Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T., Martins, Ademir J., Powell, Jeffrey R., Mason, Cristopher E. and Maciel-de-Freitas, Rafael (2019). Developing alternative surveillance methods, from the near infrared spectroscopy to predict zika infection on aedes aegypti, to metagenomics to detect the invasion of new arboviruses and haplotypes. 68th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), National Harbor, MD, United States, 20-24 November, 2019. Deerfield, IL, United States: American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.abstract2019
2019
Conference Publication
Rapid Identification of Bacterial Species with a Beam of Light
AlHarbi, B., Lord, M. and Zowawi, H. (2019). Rapid Identification of Bacterial Species with a Beam of Light. GCCMID 2018, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 7-10 November 2018. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2018.10.079
2018
Journal Article
First report of natural Wolbachia infection in the malaria mosquito Anopheles arabiensis in Tanzania
Baldini, Francesco, Rougé, Justine, Kreppel, Katharina, Mkandawile, Gustave, Mapua, Salum Abdallah, Sikulu-Lord, Maggy, Ferguson, Heather M., Govella, Nicodem and Okumu, Fredros O. (2018). First report of natural Wolbachia infection in the malaria mosquito Anopheles arabiensis in Tanzania. Parasites and Vectors, 11 (1) 635, 635. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-3249-y
2018
Journal Article
First report on the application of near-infrared spectroscopy to predict the age of Aedes albopictus Skuse
Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T., Devine, Gregor J., Hugo, Leon E. and Dowell, Floyd E. (2018). First report on the application of near-infrared spectroscopy to predict the age of Aedes albopictus Skuse. Scientific Reports, 8 (1) 9590, 9590. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-27998-7
2018
Journal Article
Do NIR spectra collected from laboratory-reared mosquitoes differ from those collected from wild mosquitoes?
Milali, Masabho P., Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T., Kiware, Samson S., Dowell, Floyd E., Povinelli, Richard J. and Corliss, George F. (2018). Do NIR spectra collected from laboratory-reared mosquitoes differ from those collected from wild mosquitoes?. PloS One, 13 (5) e0198245, e0198245. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198245
2018
Journal Article
Rapid, noninvasive detection of Zika virus in mosquitoes by near-infrared spectroscopy
Fernandes, Jill N., Dos Santos, Lílha M. B., Chouin-Carneiro, Thaís, Pavan, Márcio G., Garcia, Gabriela A., David, Mariana R., Beier, John C., Dowell, Floyd E., Maciel-de-Freitas, Rafael and Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T. (2018). Rapid, noninvasive detection of Zika virus in mosquitoes by near-infrared spectroscopy. Science Advances, 4 (5) eaat0496, eaat0496. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aat0496
2018
Journal Article
Potential benefits of combining transfluthrin-treated sisal products and long-lasting insecticidal nets for controlling indoor-biting malaria vectors
Masalu, John P., Okumu, Fredros O., Mmbando, Arnold S., Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T. and Ogoma, Sheila B. (2018). Potential benefits of combining transfluthrin-treated sisal products and long-lasting insecticidal nets for controlling indoor-biting malaria vectors. Parasites and Vectors, 11 (231) 231, 231. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-2811-y
2018
Journal Article
Monitoring the age of mosquito populations using near-infrared spectroscopy
Lambert, Ben, Sikulu-Lord, Maggy T., Mayagaya, Vale S, Devine, Greg, Dowell, Floyd and Churcher, Thomas S (2018). Monitoring the age of mosquito populations using near-infrared spectroscopy. Scientific Reports, 8 (1) 5274, 5274. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-22712-z
2018
Conference Publication
IDENTIFICATION OF <it>PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM</it>-INFECTIOUS <it>ANOPHELES COLUZZII</it> MOSQUITOES USING NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY
Da, Dari, Esperanc, Pedro, Some, Bernard, Sikulu-Lord, Maggy, Yerbanga, R., Lefevre, Thierry, Mouline, Karine, Werme, Karidia, Dowell, Floyd, Dabire, Roch and Churcher, Thomas (2018). IDENTIFICATION OF PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM-INFECTIOUS ANOPHELES COLUZZII MOSQUITOES USING NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY. 67th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Tropical-Medicine-and-Hygiene (ASTHM), New Orleans La, Oct 28-Nov 01, 2018. MCLEAN: AMER SOC TROP MED & HYGIENE.
2018
Conference Publication
Determining species of field-collected mosquitoes using near-infrared spectroscopy
Esperanca, Pedro, Da, Dari, Some, Bernard, Sikulu-Lord, Maggy, Yerbanga, R., Lefevre, Thierry, Mouline, Karine, Werme, Karidia, Dowell, Floyd, Dabire, Roch and Churcher, Thomas (2018). Determining species of field-collected mosquitoes using near-infrared spectroscopy. 67th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTHM), New Orleans, LA, United States, 28 Oct - 1 Nov, 2018. Deerfield, IL, United States: American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.abstract2018
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Maggy Lord is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Determine the effect of climate change on the transmission of Dengue
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sassan Asgari
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Doctor Philosophy
Near-infrared and machine learning algorithms to detect arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sassan Asgari
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Doctor Philosophy
Smart trap for surveillance of mosquitoes
Associate Advisor
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Detection of malaria and arboviruses with spectroscopy and machine learning techniques
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ricardo Soares Magalhaes
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring diagnostic approaches and quality assurance data for improved management of gonorrhoea antimicrobial resistance
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor David Whiley, Dr Emma Sweeney, Dr Ella Trembizki
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Detecting Haemonchus contortus infection in sheep using infrared spectroscopy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Andrew Kotze, Dr Anne Beasley
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Maggy Lord directly for media enquiries about:
- infrared spectroscopy
- malaria
- Mosquitoes
- non-invasive diagnostic tools
- surveillance
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