Martin Grunnill has recently submitted his PhD thesis on inapparent and vertically transmitted infections in two host-virus systems. He has a broad education in tropical diseases, parasitology, and mathematical modeling of infectious diseases. His research experience includes fieldwork on dengue fever transmission in Mexico and laboratory work using molecular techniques to study covert virus infections in moths.

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M A R T I N G R U N N I L L
EDUCATION & TAUGHT COURSES
 I am currently waiting for the viva examination of my PhD titled “Inapparent and Vertically
Transmitted Infections in Two Host-Virus Systems”, based at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall
Campus.
 In the course of my PhD I have attended the Wellcome Trust Advanced Course on Mathematical
Modelling of Infectious Disease, Introduction to Mathematical Modelling for the Environmental and
Biological Sciences run by the University of Stirling on behalf of NERC, Reboot: a course on dealing
with non-independent statistical data run by the University of Exeter on behalf of NERC and a
British Ecological Society’s Public Engagement for Parasitologists course run at the Natural History
Museum, London.
 The taught modules of my MRes include Personal and Employability Skills, Research Skills, Statistics
for Biologists, Research Methods and Applications in Biological Sciences, Dynamic Population
Modelling and a Research Project. The tuition of the MRes was funded through the John Lennon
Memorial Scholarship.
 I graduated with a BSc honours in Tropical Diseases Biology from The University of Liverpool. The
course was taught in conjunction with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Final year modules
included Pathogenesis of Microbial Disease, Pathogenesis of Viral Disease, Ecology and Evolution of
Infectious Disease, Vector Biology Theory Research and Implementation, Chemotherapy of Parasitic
Disease, Parasitology, Topics in Global Health and a Research Project.
 In the late summer of 2009 I gained field experience conducting research into the epidemiology of
dengue fever in Yucatán, Mexico.
QUALIFICATIONS
PhD Thesis submitted October 2015
Viva on 26th November 2015
Inapparent and Vertically Transmitted
Infections in Two Host-Virus Systems
University of Exeter
MRes 2011
Advanced Biological Sciences
(Host: Parasite Biology)
(Merit Grade)
University of Liverpool
BSc 2009
Tropical Disease Biology
(2:1)
University of Liverpool
PUBLICATIONS
Authors
Grunnill M.
and M. Boots
Date
November
2015
Title
How Important is Vertical Transmission of
Dengue Viruses by Mosquitoes (Diptera:
Culicidae)?
Journal
Journal of Medical
Entomology
RESEARCH & SCIENTIFIC HISTORY PRIOR TO PHD
BSc Research Project: Investigation of the Behavioural Responses of Host-seeking Anopheles
gambiae to the PermaNet 3® Insecticide-treated Bednet. Supervised by Dr Philip McCall.
I devised a series of experiments that involved the modification of mosquito cages in order to test the
behavioural responses of mosquitoes towards a new insecticide application for bednets. I also had to
maintain my own mosquito colonies for use in the experiments. For this research project I received a
mark of 80%.
Research into dengue fever transmission in Yucatán. Work conducted on behalf of Dr Audrey
Lenhart and Dr Pablo Manriqué.
As a participant of a Research Project into the effects of microfilarial infections in enhancing the
transmission of Dengue Fever, in summer 2009 I collected mosquitoes found in and around the houses
of three towns in Yucatán. I also categorised the mosquitoes according to species and gender. The
research was collaborative in nature and required working with colleagues from both the Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine and the Autonomous University of Yucatán.

2. MRes research project: Exploration of the Spatiotemporal Clustering of Bartonella Infections in
Field Voles. Supervised by Prof. Andy Fenton
This project used K-function analysis to estimate the degree of spatiotemporal clustering of different
flea-borne Bartonella infections in field voles Microtus agrestis, in order to discern niche differentiation
between related Bartonella species. As the field voles where collected from traps on a grid the K-function
analysis being used was developed by Carslake in 2005 for analysing discrete data. In order to carry out
the project I had to write an R version of K-function analysis for discrete data, as the previous packages
were only compatible with analysis of continuous data and Carslake had used excel, which had less
throughput and would of taken longer considering that the data had been collected over several years
and different sites.
DATA, LITERATURE REVEIW AND MODEL CHAPTERS OF PHD
The impact of host resources on vertically transmitted covert virus infection in Plodia
interpunctella
The first data chapter of my PhD, involved the maintenance of colonies of the moth P. interpunctella for
experimentation. A number of P. interpunctella larvae were dosed with a solution of P. interpunctella
granulovirus (PiGV) or a control solution. The survivors of this treatment were then bred in a factorial
design which included each combination of male and female P. interpunctella dosed with the PiGV or
control solution. The offspring from this breeding design were then raised on two different levels of
food resource, until 5th instar larvae and monitored for signs of activated PiGV infection. If no signs
were found they were preserved in ethanol for molecular screening. After this I improved upon
published molecular techniques for detecting PiGV granulin and lepidopteran CO1 mitochondrial gene.
Replacing the DNA extraction methodology from a salt extraction to using 5% Chelex suspension,
changing the PCR annealing temperatures and increasing the number of PCR cycles. These improved
methodologies were then used to test the ethanol preserved larvae P. interpunctella for covert PiGV
infection. A shortened version of this chapter is in the process of being submitted to the journal Insects
for publication.
The Effect of Host Inbreeding on the Vertical Transmission of PiGV Within its Host Plodia
interpunctella
A parental generation of three inbred and two outbred lines of P. interpunctella were dosed with PiGV. I
then monitored the resulting offspring of each line for signs of PiGV infection. If not found, they were
analysed using the previously mentioned molecular techniques. It is intended that this work will be
combined with work by a post-doc of my supervisors and published.
How important is vertical transmission of dengue viruses by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)?
I conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on vertical transmission of dengue viruses and
discussed its role in dengue’s epidemiology and control. I concluded that the low rates of vertical
transmission seen in the field, the sheer sampling effort in obtaining such results, as well as the many
field studies which found no evidence of vertical transmission of dengue virus would point to the vertical
transmission of dengue virus being of little importance to the epidemiology and persistence of dengue
virus. A combination of asymptomatic dengue virus infection in humans and movement of dengue virus
infected humans may well be more important.
Frequency dependent models of asymptomatic dengue infections: their relation to epidemic
success, persistence and population at risk of developing dengue haemorrhagic fever
I assessed the impact of asymptomatic infections on the epidemic persistence of dengue, through
frequency dependent SIR models, modified to include an asymptomatic class. Upon infection, in Model
A, humans moved to either the asymptomatic or the symptomatic class. In Model B, upon infection,
humans moved to the asymptomatic class, then either recovered from infection or progressed to the
symptomatic class. The models were simulated in MATLAB as Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs).
I then investigated the effects of different combinations of the proportion of asymptomatic infections,
their recovery and transmission rates on the basic reproductive number (R0), dengue’s epidemic
persistence and the population left at risk of developing Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF).
Mosquito dependent models of asymptomatic dengue infections: their relationship to epidemic
success, persistence and population at risk of developing dengue haemorrhagic fever
The incubation period within the mosquito may cause a lag in dengue’s transmission dynamics and so

3. affects the persistence of dengue epidemics. For this reason the models from the previous chapter were
further modified to include the vector. The R0 for these mosquito transmission dependent models was
determined through next generation matrix methods. The two models were again coded in MATLAB as
a series of ODEs and used to simulate the same effects of the asymptomatic class on the epidemiological
outcomes described previously.
Stochastic susceptible asymptomatic infectious recovered (SAIR) models of the transmission of
dengue viruses
In both of the previous two chapters, epidemics that persisted over 2 years coincided with a R0 of just
over 1. If the outbreak of dengue was modelled stochastically instead of deterministically this could lead
to an epidemic not spreading beyond a few individuals. For this reason the τ-leap methodology was used
to code up stochastic versions of the host-host and host-vector-host transmission versions of Model A.
Once again, the epidemic persistence of dengue and population left at risk of DHF were explored via
different combinations of asymptomatic recovery rate, asymptomatic transmission rate and the
probability of infections developing symptoms.
SKILLS AND INTERESTS
Computing,
Statistical
analyses and
Mathematical
Modeling
Team Work
Communication
Skills
Public
Engagement
The data from 2nd and 3rd data chapters of my PhD was analysed using GLMs,
GLMMs and LMMs in R. The R coding required for the MRes project extensively
used for loops and simulation of random data for statistical comparisons. The
Wellcome Trust Advanced Course and University of Exeter’s Reboot course
consisted of advanced mathematical and statistical training in R. The course held at
University of Stirling gave me a basic grounding of ecological modelling in Matlab. I
have furthered my knowledge of Matlab, using it for the coding of the final projects
of my PhD.
Working within a Lab group in my PhD and Practical modules in my BSc has
taught me how to organise my work within a group and arrange completion of
tasks with others, in order to successfully complete group projects. Through my
experience of conducting research in the Yucatán I have gained the communication
and organisation skills required for working with groups of people of mixed abilities
in two languages and from separate cultures.
As part of Prof. Mike Boots’ lab group I attended regular lab meetings and weekly
meetings held with a wider grouping of other disease and microbiological labs.
Within these two groups I have been an active participant in discussions of both my
own and others work, be it results or plans for future projects, as well as papers of
interest. PhD biologists within the University of Exeter’s Cornwall campus are
expected to give a presentation on an aspect of their work within the course of a
year. Feedback from my last presentation was extremely positive; many stated that I
explained the underlying mathematical frameworks of my work in a comprehensible
and interesting way considering their feelings towards mathematics. I have
presented a poster and given oral presentations at the 2013 and 2015 spring
meeting of the British Society for Parasitology, respectively.
The British Ecological Society’s Public Engagement for Parasitologists course gave
me insight on how to present scientific work to a lay audience and training in being
interviewed about my work in front of a camera. As my career progresses I intend
to use these skills to plan and participate in future public engagement events.

4. REFEREES
Supervisor for my PhD:
Prof. Mike Boots
Integrative Biology
UC Berkeley
California
United States of America
Email: mboots@berkeley.edu
Supervisor for voluntary field work in the Yucatán
Dr Audrey Lenhart
Entomology Branch
Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria
Centre for Global Health, CDC
1600 Clifton Rd. NE, MS G-49
Bldg. 23, Office 10-135
Atlanta, GA 30329
United States of America
Email: AJL8@cdc.gov
Tel: +1 404-718-4328
Supervisor for my MRes:
Prof. Andy Fenton
Institute of Integrative Biology
Biosciences Building
University of Liverpool
Crown Street
Liverpool
L69 7ZB
United Kingdom
Email: A.Fenton@liverpool.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)151 795 4473
Supervisor for my BSc Research Project:
Dr Phillip J McCall
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Vector Group
Pembroke Place
Liverpool
L3 5QA
Email: Philip.McCall@lstmed.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)151 705 3132