Betwel John Msugupakulya is a research scientist at Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. His research interests include the understanding of ecology and behaviors of disease vectors to understand and characterize drivers of transmission, improving and strengthening vector surveillance in light of malaria elimination, monitoring the effectiveness of vector control interventions and optimizing vector control technologies for malaria elimination. 

Betwel began his research career as a post-graduate student at Ifakara in 2018. In 2020, he obtained his MSc in Public Health Science from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, where his focus was on the question of where malaria mosquitos rest inside houses and whether a better understanding of these behaviors can help optimize indoor residual spraying. 

Betwel has been involved in numerous research projects since then, developing his skills in a variety of different areas such as field research, vector surveillance, data collection, management, and analysis, mapping and geospatial analysis, and mathematical modeling. He has also worked with national and international collaborators.

Currently, Betwel serves as a Project Leader of a study aimed at improving malaria vector surveillance in Africa. He is also pursuing a PhD in tropical diseases, where he is researching strategies for effective larval source management for control of malaria in rural communities. He is also interested in exploring new technologies such as attractive toxic sugar baits and spatial repellents for vector control. 

Betwel aspires to continue his studies and contribute to global malaria eradication efforts. He also likes to mentor students and share his knowledge and experience with them and the broader community.