Category: Outreach

On Saturday, October 25, 2025, members of the INHS Medical Entomology Lab — Chris Stone, Gabriel Yan, Lance Jones, and Kylee Noel — spent the day at Pickerill-Pigott Forest Preserve in Yorkville, IL, leading hands-on learning activities for educators during the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) ENTICE workshop on Illinois Mosquitoes & Ticks.

The team shared their expertise on a range of topics, including tick life cycles and identification, pathogen detection in vectors, common mosquito species of Illinois, mosquito behavior and life cycles, and trapping methods. Participants had the opportunity to get outdoors, learn how to collect and identify ticks and mosquitoes, and discuss how these concepts can be brought into the classroom to inspire students about ecology, public health, and conservation.

The ENTICE (Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education) program provides natural resources training for educators through interactive workshops led by professionals from across Illinois. The program helps teachers connect students with the state’s rich natural heritage while offering Professional Development Hours approved by the Illinois State Board of Education.

We’re proud to see our INHS-MEL members helping educators bring the fascinating world of mosquitoes, ticks, and vector ecology to life — one workshop at a time!

The Urban Pest Management Technical Committee (UPMTC) visited the Illinois Natural History Survey on September 25, 2024, to learn more about the research being done at the survey and to spark future collaborations. Raymond Kim and Kylee Noel, members of the medical entomology lab, presented to the group. Raymond provided an overview of the medical entomology program, while Kylee discussed her ongoing research on insecticide resistance. UPMTC members also took a tour of the medical entomology lab led by INHS-MEL director Chris Stone and graduate student Joseph Spina. They had the opportunity to learn about the molecular diagnostic work being performed in the lab and view the insectary, which includes mosquito and bed bug colonies. The featured photo shows graduate student Vinisha Singh Basnet (center) and INHS-MEL director Chris Stone (right) chatting about bed bugs with UPMTC members during the laboratory tour.

Photo credit: Prairie Research Institute on LinkedIn.

The “Discovering STEM in ACES Program” (DSAP) is an annual summer initiative hosted by the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This program offers hands-on field and laboratory experiences for rising high school seniors from underserved communities, aiming to provide impactful opportunities that prepare and inspire students for college.

This year’s program took place from July 16th to 18th and marked the second time the INHS-MEL participated. Members Gabriel Yan, Kylee Noel, and Carly Kallembach created a field experience for students to learn various methods of collecting arthropod vectors. Gabriel provided an overview of different types of mosquito traps and their uses, Carly demonstrated how to collect ticks, and Kylee assisted students in identifying the insects they collected from the traps.

The field experience was enjoyable for everyone involved, and the INHS-MEL looks forward to participating in future ACES programs!

Featured Image: INHS-MEL member Gabriel Yan giving a demonstration of a mosquito trap to DSAP students.