Havana University in Cuba, Havana, Cuba;Dr. Alina Rodríguez Mallon has a Bachelor in Biochemistry and a PhD in Molecular Biology at the Havana University in Cuba. She received post-doctoral training with an ICEGB fellowship at the Prof. Di Lauro’s laboratory in Naples, Italy and in the laboratory of Prof. Hans Shöeler at the European Molecular Biology Laboratories in Heidelberg, Germany on stem cell culture and knock out mice technology. Since her bachelor graduation in 1990, she has been a researcher in the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, Cuba, working on molecular biology and genetic engineering. She is presently the head of the Animal Biotechnology Department at CIGB and the Principal Researcher in the “Antigens against ticks” Research Project. She is also Full Professor at Biology Faculty in the Havana University and Full academic of the Cuban Academy of Science. She is a member of the CIGB and BioCubaFarma Scientific Councils and also a member of the Cuban Chemistry Society and the World Society of Tropical Veterinary Medicine. Alina and her group have been recognized on several occasions with Annual Awards from the Cuban Academy of Sciences for their contributions to Biotechnology in Cuba. She holds the Carlos J. Finlay order, which is the highest distinction awarded by the Cuban government to nationals and foreigners for their contributions to the development of science. She is interested in the study of ticks and tick-borne diseases, as well as the tool development for their control. She is also interested in the development of vaccines and diagnostic means for veterinary use in general.

INRAE, Maisons-Alfort, France;Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz, DVM, MSc, PhD, HDR, is a Principal Investigator and Head of the microbioTick Laboratory at UMR BIPAR (INRAE, ANSES, École Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort), France. His research focuses on vector-associated microbiomes, host–microbiota–pathogen interactions, vector competence, pathogen transmission, and the development of microbiome-based strategies for disease control. He and his team have pioneered the concept and application of anti-microbiota vaccines and have contributed extensively to understanding the ecological and functional roles of microbial communities associated with ticks and other arthropod vectors. He also serves as Section Editor-in-Chief of the Ticks Section of Pathogens and has contributed to the development of cross-journal Topics and other scientific community-building initiatives. He has authored more than 280 peer-reviewed scientific publications and has an h-index of 50.

MDPI;Lavinia Cozma, Deputy Managing Editor, MDPI Romania