I2I Methods Validation (2021–2025)

This group began as the Methods Validation team of Innovation to Impact (I2I), an LSTM-hosted programme funded by the Gates Foundation that worked from 2015 to 2025 to address underlying barriers to innovation and quality management in vector control. When I2I closed in April 2025, its focus areas were handed over to associated groups to take forward; the Methods Validation work continues here. Between 2021 and 2025, the team critically reviewed bioassays and related methods used in the development and evaluation of vector control tools. The aim was to identify and minimise sources of variability, and to find gaps in knowledge of how best to test existing and new tools. The team addressed these gaps by developing consensus protocols, experimentally validating existing and new methods, and working with stakeholders to identify concerns and generate solutions, including best-practice protocols and data analysis tools.

The Method Validation Framework, a process for generating consistent, high-quality data for evaluating vector control tools.
The Methods Landscape, documenting current methods used to develop and assess vector control tools, with reviews of test methods and a repository of best-practice SOPs for laboratory and semi-field testing.
Publications on sources of variability in vector control bioassays.
- Praulins et al. 2022 – Reviewing the WHO Tube Bioassay Methodology: Accurate Method Reporting and Numbers of Mosquitoes Are Key to Producing Robust Results
- Mechan et al. 2024 – Power calculation for mosquito bioassays: Quantifying variability in the WHO tube bioassay and developing sample size guidance for the PBO synergism assay using a Shiny application
- Praulins et al. 2024 – Unpacking WHO and CDC Bottle Bioassay Methods: A Comprehensive Literature Review and Protocol Analysis Revealing Key Outcome Predictors
- Harvey et al. 2025 – Maximising power with the minimum number of mosquitoes: Designing robust sample sizes for the WHO Cone Bioassay
Contribution to WHO policy – Quality of conduct and interpretation of insecticide susceptibility in bioassays using new insecticides for vector control: meeting report, 24 September 2024

Picture of two hands in latex blue gloves of person wearing a royal blue lab coat. The left hand is holding a data collection sheet in place on a lab counter on the left of the image. The right hand is using a black pen to write data entries. Behind the data collection sheet is a white cup holding tubes with green rubber bands around the top of the tubes.