|
When you talk with people who knew Dave Hogenkamp, you’ll hear a catch in their voice or see something glistening in their eyes. It’s not only because pancreatic cancer killed Hogenkamp just six months after his 30th birthday; it’s also because in his brief time as a molecular biologist, Hogenkamp made a major, lasting contribution toward preventing some ages-old, devastating illnesses—malaria, West Nile virus, and dengue and yellow fevers.
 |
Molecular biologist Dave Hogenkamp was just starting to make new discoveries as part of a Purdue research team mapping mosquito genes when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The promising young researcher’s life was cut short when, at age 30, he succumbed to the disease. |
Hogenkamp was part of a multi-institutional scientific team that mapped all of the Aedes aegypti mosquito genes. In the process, he uncovered molecules that play a pivotal role in how mosquitoes find a blood meal and spread disease.
A recommendation from a graduate school mentor who was a Purdue University alumnus, combined with Hogenkamp’s trademark motivation, organization and scientific talent, landed him in Cate Hill’s Purdue laboratory. The lab was involved in the project to unravel the Aedes genome; Aedes spreads organisms that cause dengue and yellow fevers. Joining the lab was Hogenkamp’s chance to fulfill his desire to contribute to improving public health.
“Dave was a young scientist with enormous potential; he was just a superstar,” says Hill, a molecular and public health entomologist. “Everybody recognized that. He was one of those people who comes along and you know…yep, that person will have a very successful career.”
Hogenkamp put in long hours in the lab—late nights and often weekends, Hill says. He accomplished much in less than five months, before he was diagnosed with cancer on Nov. 4, 2006. He died Jan. 28, 2007, but not before he added major knowledge about an insect that can kill, as surely as can pancreatic cancer.
Studying deadly diseases
Hill’s team, including Hogenkamp, had an integral role in studying Aedes, the second of three mosquito genomes scientists have mapped and sequenced. The research is a major endeavor to protect people and animals from insect-borne maladies. Aedes spreads yellow and dengue fevers by biting an infected person and then injecting the disease organism into another person.
Yellow fever kills about 30,000 people worldwide annually. Fifty million cases of dengue fever are recorded every year. Dengue hemorrhagic fever, which causes internal and external bleeding, accounts for 500,000 of the total cases.
Mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria and yellow and dengue fevers, are re-emerging and rapidly spreading in the Western Hemisphere, according to the World Health Organization. The most recent statistics reported more than 600,000 dengue cases in the Americas. Increased international travel and immigration from countries where the illnesses are endemic are major factors for rising occurrences. Hogenkamp’s focus was to find genetic answers that could help stem that disease trend.
“Mosquitoes are the most important vector of human and animal diseases worldwide,” says Sonny Ramaswamy, director of Purdue Agricultural Research Programs. “Dave’s contributions to help decipher the yellow fever mosquito genome are critical in allowing scientists to develop more effective mosquito and disease control strategies.”
|
