We have launched the BiteMap website in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications to enhance our community-engaged passive tick surveillance program and collaborations, including with Lincoln Park Zoo and IL Extension. The website allows Illinois residents to report tick bites and encounters, and initiate submissions of tick […]
Dr. Jiayue (Gabriel) Yan and graduate student Joseph Spina are heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to present at the American Mosquito Control Association’s (AMCA) 91st Annual Meeting. Dr. Yan will deliver a talk titled “Effects of Seasonality and Developed Land Cover on Culex Mosquito Abundance and Microbiome Diversity” on Thursday, March 6, from 4:15 […]
Dr. Arif Ciloglu from Erciyes University, (Kayseri, Turkey), will be joining our lab as a Visiting Research Scholar for the coming year. His research interests are vectors and vector-borne parasitic diseases of domestic and wild animals. He uses molecular techniques and bioinformatics to research epidemiology, genetics, and evolution of both vectors and vector transmitted parasites. […]
Graduate student Kylee Noel from INHS-MEL successfully defended her dissertation titled “Culex Mosquitoes & Insecticides: Resistance and Sublethal Exposure” on November 6, 2024. She and her advisor, Director Chris Stone, attended the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony on December 14, 2024. Kylee has accepted a position as a postdoctoral research associate and will continue her work with […]
A new review article from the INHS-MEL was recently published in Frontiers in Tropical Diseases titled “Dynamics of invasive mosquitoes: introduction pathways, limiting factors, and their potential role in vector-borne pathogen transmission”. The article discusses the impact of global trade and travel on the spread of vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) and highlights concerns about the introduction […]
Entomology graduate student Kylee Noel recently won the “Rising Stars in Entomology Symposium Award” from the Entomological Society of America. As part of her award, Kylee will present at the Entomological Society of America’s annual conference on Tuesday, November 12th from 4:50-5:25 p.m. Her presentation “Buzz kill: Insecticide resistance in Culex mosquito populations” was this […]
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 […]
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 […]
An informational video was produced by the Illinois Lyme Association (ILA) in collaboration with the INHS-MEL to show how ticks are tested in the lab for diseases and pathogens. The video features Dr. Raymond Kim performing RNA extractions from tick samples followed by PCR detection for pathogens. Watch the video here. Featured image: Dr. Kim […]
Dr. Jiayue (Gabriel) Yan recently published an article in the journal Communications Biology titled “Nutritional stress compromises mosquito fitness and antiviral immunity, while enhancing dengue virus infection susceptibility”. A behind-the-scenes article was written about Dr. Yan’s work by the UIUC News Bureau and was featured on UIUC, PRI, and INHS websites. The paper is available […]