The award, sponsored by the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC) and UCMRP, is for the best scientific paper presented at the MVCAC conference, set for Feb. 4 to 7 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, 2233 Ventura St., Fresno. The winner receives $1000 in cash and a plaque. The second-place winner receives $500, and third place, $250.

Undergraduate and graduate students at a California college or university or post-graduate scientists who received their degrees no more than three years ago are eligible to apply. Post-graduate scientists must be working within the general field of biology, vector control or vector-borne diseases. Applicants must either be the sole author or senior author of a scientific paper.

The award memorializes William C. Reeves (1916-2004) of UC Berkeley, widely regarded at one of the world’s foremost authorities on the spread and control of mosquito-borne diseases. He was a frequent visitor to the UC Davis campus.

Lisa Reimer, a doctorate student in the Lanzaro Vector Genetics Lab at UC Davis, won the 2006 Reeves Award for her research on insecticide resistance in Anopheles gambiae, the principal vector of malaria. The parasitic disease kills some 2.5 to 3 million people a year worldwide, primarily in Africa.

Further information on the Reeves award is available on the UCMRP Web site or by contacting administrative assistant Nancy Dullum at (530) 752-6983 or at nadullum@ucdavis.edu. The MVCAC Web site is at www.mvcac.org.

UCMRP, established in 1972, is a statewide program of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The statewide programs focus on research and extension in solving priority problems in the management of California agriculture, natural resources, and human development.