Vector Genetics Laboratory

March 2026 - Initial field site visit and collections in Annobón

Photo Credit: Mark Scott Unger

Photo Credit: Dulcinea Productions for UCMI

Melina Campos and Anton Cornel collecting larvae by the side of the road in Príncipe

Photo Credit: Dulcinea Productions for UCMI

The VECTOR GENETICS LABORATORY at UC Davis is dedicated to advancing research and training in population and molecular genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics of insect vectors that transmit human and animal diseases.

Our mission is to expand scientific knowledge that can be applied to improving vector control strategies, while also addressing fundamental questions in evolutionary genetics.

Currently, our major research focus is on the vectors of malaria in Africa, though we pursue a wide range of projects across vector biology and genetics.

The laboratory is led by Gregory Lanzaro, a professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Anton Cornel a professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Undergraduate Research Program

The Vector Genetics Laboratory (VGL) at UC Davis carries out research and training in the areas of population and molecular genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics of insect vectors of human and animal disease. We have developed a program aimed at expanding knowledge that may be applied to improving control of vectorborne diseases, and that addresses problems of interest in the field of evolutionary genetics. The laboratory is directed by Dr. Gregory C. Lanzaro in the Dept. of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology of the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr.

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São Tomé and Príncipe 2026

VGL Events & Activities

Recent News

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Staff Opening - Administrative Assistant to the PI

by Christine Coleman
October 20, 2026

Job Openings

Job Summary

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University of California Malaria Initiative (UCMI) Secures $30 Million from Coefficient Giving to Advance Malaria Elimination in Equatorial Guinea

by Christine Coleman
October 15, 2026

Press

Coefficient Giving, a philanthropic funder and advisor committed to cost-effective, high-impact giving, has awarded $30 million to the University of California Malaria Initiative (UCMI) to advance its work in preventing the mosquito-driven spread of malaria. The new funding continues a partnership between Coefficient Giving and UCMI that began in 2019 and will support UCMI’s growing collaboration with the Government of Equatorial Guinea to implement UCMI’s gene drive technology in support of the country’s national malaria elimination goals.

Two smiling people in yellow and red rain jackets on basalt shore with waves, palm trees (photo)

Fieldwork Update from São Tomé and Príncipe

by Christine Coleman
October 05, 2026

SRA Brett Morgan and Postdoc Shreena Pradhan recently returned from fieldwork in São Tomé and Príncipe, where they contributed to two complementary projects on Anopheles coluzzii. One project investigated how this malaria vector tolerates saline environments, with larvae collected from various sites spanning fresh to brackish waters and tested in the lab for salt stress responses, alongside RNA sequencing to identify genes involved in salinity tolerance.

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