Wim Van Bortel

Wim Van Bortel is a senior researcher in the Unit of Entomology and Outbreak Research Team at the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (ITM). He also holds a lecturer position at the University of Antwerp’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences. With a PhD in Biology (2002) from the University of Antwerp and extensive experience in vector-borne diseases, his work focuses on improving disease prevention through vector ecology and public health strategies.

• Research interests include medical entomology, malaria, arbovirus epidemiology, and climate change impacts on disease vectors.
• Current projects span vector control in Morocco, West Nile virus expansion studies, and Belgian mosquito surveillance (MEMO+).
• Leadership roles in EU initiatives like VectorNet and the MOOD data science project.

Teaching includes tropical medicine courses and infectious disease control at ITM and the University of Antwerp.

Over 150 publications since 1994, with recent focus on malaria surveillance, sand fly distribution, Bartonella quintana, and climate change implications.

Grants include funding from Flemish Government, ECDC, and Belgian Science Policy, supporting projects on scabies, pandemic intelligence, and entomological research.