Vector Genetics Laboratory

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. 

A new study from our lab and collaborators, published in Malaria Journal, examines the breeding ecology of Anopheles coluzzii, the primary malaria vector on São Tomé. Monitoring 32 aquatic habitats in Bairro Verde across wet and dry seasons (2023–2024), the team found that this species utilizes a wide range of temporary and permanent water bodies and tolerates diverse environmental conditions.

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER

Population Genomics & Adaptive Introgression Among African Malaria Vector Species

Join an interdisciplinary research program investigating the evolutionary genomics of Africa’s most important malaria vectors.