Research
GCaMP6s signal from CO2 receptor neurons in the maxillary palps of an Aedes aegyti female in response to a CO2 stimulus.
Neurobiology of mosquito attraction to humans
Female mosquitoes use multiple cues such as body odor, carbon dioxide, heat, and moisture to detect potential hosts to blood feed on. The McMeniman lab has developed neurogenetic tools to gain genetic access to different classes of olfactory sensory neurons in the mosquito head (Shankar et al., 2020). I use calcium imaging and behavioral assays to study neuronal circuits driving mosquito attraction to humans and how internal states modulate these behaviors.
Mosquito olfactory preferences in naturalistic conditions
Mosquitoes preferentially bite some people more than others and it is believed that this is driven by differences in odor between humans. We developed a semi-field system that allows us to study mosquito olfactory preferences in naturalistic conditions using human whole-body odor. This assay is located at the Macha Research Trust in Zambia and allows us to measure olfactory preferences of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae between up to eight human subjects while collecting the composition of their whole body odor for chemical analysis. Investigating the underlying mechanisms that lead to mosquito preferences in humans can help us engineer chemical lures that can be used for vector control and surveillance.
Semi-field cage used to study mosquito olfactory preferences in naturalistic conditions at the Macha Research Trust in Zambia.