Annual Reports:

[12/12/2025] [10/23/2026]

Report Information

Participants

Kris Silver; Kansas State University
Paul Leisnham; University of Maryland
Subba Reddy Palli; University of Kentucky
Olivia Katz ; University of Kentucky
Ben Grady; University of Kentucky
Bandana Shrestha; University of Kentucky
Maria C. Carrasquilla; University of Kentucky
Jun Seok Ryoo; University of Kentucky
Callista Vandegriff; University of Kentucky
Andrea Gloria-Soria; The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Megan Linske The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Scott Williams; The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Allie Gardner; University of Maine
Risa Pesapane; Ohio State University
Megan Meuti; Ohio State University
Shirley Luckhart; University of Idaho
Xiufeng Zhang; Kansas State University
Becky Trout Fryxwell, University of Tennessee
Paulina Maldonado; University of Arizona
Alex Kelley; University of Delaware
Hunt Kinnoin; University of Delaware
Tammi Johnson; Texas A&M, Agrilife Research
Elissa Ballman; University of Maine
Michael Riehle; University of Arizona
Sydney Pruett; University of Idaho
Ava Miller; University of Arizona
Sangwoo Seok; University of Florida
Jennifer Peterson, University of Delaware

Brief Summary of Minutes

The annual meeting of NE 2443 was held on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 in association with the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America in Portland, OR. The meeting included introductory remarks by the chair (Kris Silver) and introduction of the incoming co-chair (Jennifer Peterson). These were followed by presentations by project members or their laboratory personnel. The meeting ended with concluding remarks by the chair, and preparation of a form to collect year-long project data from the members.

Collaborative Accomplishments Toward Project Objectives

<p>Dr. Yoosook Lee's work&nbsp;addresses the research and extension needs to improve surveillance and control of invasive mosquitoes at local and regional scale. Ecological and geographic distribution of invasive species are examined to inform mosquito control and management strategies. Lee obtained mosquito samples from multiple locations Puerto Rico. Whole genome sequencing data was collected from the natural populations to estimate population connectivity between locations and to inform various models aimed at modeling mosquito distribution and dispersal. This will be critical in assessing the impacts of various mosquito control measures including genetic biocontrol on the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases including novel genetic control strategies. Lee is also serving as the Program Director of the Mosquito BEACONS working group improving the invasive mosquito surveillance and control capacity in the Southern states including FL, GA, MS, LA, NC, SC, TX, VA, and PR. The Mosquito BEACONS working group provided invasive mosquito identification workshops in Florida, Texas, and Virginia during the project period to strengthen the invasive mosquito surveillance capacity in the southern region. Lee provided hands-on experience in various science fairs and summer school programs to promote interest in STEM and invasive species management among K-12 students.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Kris Silver's work has largely focused on Objective 3 of NE2443 (Discover, develop, and integrate interventions to manage vector-borne pathogen transmission and pesticide resistance). His lab has been examining the roles of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in insect phisiology both by disrupting suspected biogenesis pathways and observing their effects on systemic RNA interference responses and by characterizing EVs derived from cultured Culex tarsalis cells following infection with West Nile virus (WNV). EVs are important mediators of intercellular and inter-species communication and understanding their roles and components will generate new strategies for disrupting pathogen transmission and controlling insect pests. In these experiments, EVs from infected cells were able to induce infection in uninfected cells. In parallel to these experiments,&nbsp;they have also been collaborating with Dr. Shi-Hua Xiang at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to test novel compounds that inhibit WNV replication in cultured Culex tarsalis cells. These experiments have identified several candidates for further development. In addition,&nbsp;they continue our experiments using electropenetrography (EPG) to understand the probing behaviors of blood-feeding insects. In the past year we have also been measuring gene expression in relation to the oberved waveforms producded by EPG techniques, which has revealed significant changes in gene expression during different phases of probing.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Adela Chavez's group&nbsp;performed immuno-precipitation of proteins recognized by the immune system of White-tailed Deer (WTD) after vaccination with extracellular vesicles (EVs). Using this approach, they&nbsp;identified over 20 proteins that can be used for the development of an anti-tick vaccine based on artificial extracellular vesicles. Additionally, they&nbsp;performed vaccination of cattle with extracellular vesicles to evaluate their efficacy to control ticks, showing promising results. Vaccination with EVs increased mortality of ticks in vaccinated animals, reduced weight and oviposition in surviving females, and reduced hatching of the eggs produced. They&nbsp;additionally, observed that exposure of ticks to winter conditions in Wisconsin altered the epigenetics of Ixodes scapularis ticks and miRNAs within EVs appear to target mRNAs encoding proteins involved in the wound healing response.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Subba Palli's lab works on Spotted fever rickettsiosis, which includes a group of illnesses with similar symptoms caused by Rickettsia spp. bacteria. Among these, Rickettsia rickettsii causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in humans and is transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. While cases of this disease are reported each year, there is a historically low infection rate of this bacterium in the tick vector, Dermacentor variabilis. They&nbsp;report the county-level distribution of D. variabilis infected with R. rickettsii. Ticks were collected from the environment from 2019 to 2024 by dragging a white cloth and through&nbsp;their Kentucky Tick Submission Program. In total, 2,026 D. variabilis ticks were collected from 114 counties. Rickettsia rickettsii was detected in 15 tick samples (Minimum infection rate = 1%). These findings highlight the need for additional surveillance targeted in counties where RMSF cases are reported, improved clinical recognition, and expanded public health efforts to monitor and prevent RMSF in this region.</p><br /> <p>During this period,&nbsp;Dr. Andrea Gloria-Soria's lab&nbsp;worked together with academic institutions and vector control departments from across the US to obtain specimens from the Culex pipiens complex for amplicon sequencing and whole genome sequencing genotyping. They&nbsp;seek to better characterize the extent of the hybrid zone, particularly in the Northeast, focused on the distribution of pyrethroid resistance in the complex. They&nbsp;have generated the first Culex pipiens and molestus chromosome-level genome assemblies from the USA and sequenced the complete genome of 260 individual mosquitoes from 26 locations, determine their genotype at the kdr locus and investigated signals of admixture between Cx. pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus across a north-south transect. The results of this work are been prepared for publication.</p><br /> <p>The research in Dr. Panpim Thongripong's&nbsp;lab focuses on understanding the social and ecological processes that shape mosquito-borne disease transmission. This year, they&nbsp;advanced several projects spanning human-mosquito interactions, vector behavior, and mosquito community ecology. Their work involved studies using Bite Diary, a mosquito bite&ndash;reporting app, and standardized surveys to quantify bite exposure and the human behaviors that influence it. Their analyses show that outdoor activities and the timing of those activities strongly affect bite risk. They&nbsp;also identified psychological traits, including bite tolerance and perceived bite reactions, as key factors influencing adoption of bite-protection behaviors. These insights have implications for how human behavior shapes disease transmission. They&nbsp;also completed experimental studies examining how temperature affects the biting behavior and biting rates of Aedes aegypti. Because temperature influences both biting persistence and blood-feeding rates, these findings have important implications for predicting transmission dynamics under climate change scenarios. Another project nearing completion evaluated a low-cost UV light&ndash;based trap (the Katchy trap) for mosquito surveillance and control. In addition, they&nbsp;published results from a study examining mosquito community composition and mosquito blood-host usage across different landscape types in Florida, demonstrating strong habitat effects on both mosquito community structure and feeding patterns. Finally, ongoing work in the lab includes characterizing mosquito viromes and investigating how microclimate influences mosquito resting behavior.</p><br /> <p>To test the effect of microbial communities on mosquito life history traits,&nbsp;Dr. Sarah Short's group reared Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with a controlled microbiota (gnotobiotic) or with a conventional microbiota and compared the effect of different microbial treatments on male wing length, longevity, pupation time, and mating success. Using bacterial communities they&nbsp;previously collected from natural larval breeding sites in Florida, USA, they&nbsp;measured these traits in males reared with exposure to each microbial environment. They&nbsp;identified microbial communities from natural A. aegypti larval development sites that differ significantly in pupation/eclosion success and give rise to males that differ significantly in wing length and flight capacity. They&nbsp;have isolated bacteria from the preserved communities and are currently sequencing each isolate to determine its identity. These data reveal how different microbes impact male traits critical to reproductive success, and the extent to which encountering certain microbes during larval development have life-long impacts on male reproduction and physiology. Additionally, they&nbsp;have investigated the impact of the microsporidian parasite Edhazardia aedis on the immune response of Aedes aegypti. They&nbsp;have determined that infection with the parasite increases the melanization and antimicrobial immune response in the mosquito but decreases excretion activity. They&nbsp;are currently investigating the role of C-type Lectins on mosquito-bacteria interactions in individuals infected with E. aedis.</p><br /> <p>The Dobson lab at the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology has developed base level survivorship data for both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus adult females and males, for use in comparison with pathogen infected individuals. This data is being analyzed in preparation of a publication.</p><br /> <p>At the Pennsylvania State University Deer Research Center (Dr. Erika Machtinger), 20 white-tailed deer were assigned to lone star tick, blacklegged tick, or control groups. Tick-exposed deer underwent three infestations two weeks apart to quantify tick recovery, engorged weight, fecundity, and immune responses. Lone star ticks showed decreasing engorged weights across infestations, suggesting partial acquired resistance, while blacklegged tick engorgement remained stable. Despite reduced size, lone star females produced substantial egg masses, indicating a compensatory reproductive strategy. Correlations between engorged and egg mass weights strengthened for lone star ticks but remained weak for blacklegged ticks, demonstrating species-specific host&ndash;vector interactions. Histopathology and sera collections were completed, generating a resource for molecular and immunological analyses. In addition,&nbsp;pathogensParallel fieldwork across three Pennsylvania State Game Lands and Shaver&rsquo;s Creek produced baseline ecological data for rodent-targeted tick-tube evaluations. White-footed mice were the primary captures, with consistent body condition across plots. Rodent tick burdens, drag counts, and cotton-removal metrics established pretreatment benchmarks. Larval ticks were most abundant in edge habitats. Tube-condition data (cotton loss, wildlife damage, tube disappearance) identified logistical factors influencing field persistence.Baseline data directly informed refinements for Years 2&ndash;3 of the tick-tube study, including optimized spacing and monthly replacement intervals to improve intervention performance under natural conditions.</p><br /> <p>Research in&nbsp;Dr. Allison Gardner's lab corresponds to two Multistate project objectives, with an emphasis on the blacklegged tick and Lyme disease system: (2) Determine the ecology, physiology, genetics, and/or geographic and temporal distributions of historical, extant, and emerigng disease vectors and the pathogens they transmit. (3) Discover, develop, and integrate interventions to manage vector-borne pathogen transmission and pesticide resistance. Under objective 2, they are conducting complementary lab and field studies to understand the environmental constraints on the current distribution of the blacklegged tick in Maine.&nbsp;They are studying the interacting effects of exposure to cold temperatures and temperature variability on tick overwinter survival and conducting lab experiments to test whether the primary driver of overwinter tick mortality is direct freeze damage versus lipid depletion.&nbsp;They also are analyzing a long-term passive tick surveillance data set to investigate the impacts of climate conditions on changes in tick phenology in Maine over 35 years. Under objective 3,&nbsp;they are conducting field studies to assess the potential of different strategies to manage ticks in the residential environment. First,&nbsp;they concluded a three-year study evaluating the efficacy of beta-cyfluthrin to reduce tick densities in the woods on residential land. Second,&nbsp;they initiated a new planned four-year study investigating the effects of invasive buckthorn removal on tick densities, following up on previous research that has established a strong link between presence of invasive plants and high tick densities.</p><br /> <p>Over the past year,&nbsp;Dr. Tammi Johnson's&nbsp;research has focused on understanding the ecological requirements of Amblyomma maculatum s.l. (morphotype III).&nbsp;They successfully established a laboratory colony of this tick, enabling comparative studies of life history traits between A. maculatum s.s. (morphotype II, Gulf Coast tick) and A. maculatum s.l. (morphotype III). These morphotypes occupy distinct ecological niches, yet both are significant vectors of Rickettsia parkeri, a pathogen of public health concern. In addition to colony development,&nbsp;they quantified the rickettsial infection status of all A. maculatum s.l. ticks collected from Arizona. This work complements their previously published life history manuscript (2024) and provides critical insights into tick ecology and pathogen transmission dynamics. These findings will inform future studies on vector biology and disease risk assessment.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Shirley Luckhart's&nbsp;research addresses Objective 2 of NE 2443. Specifically,&nbsp;they work on the physiology and behavioral biology of Anopheles stephensi, a highly invasive malaria vector mosquito. During this past year,&nbsp;they published four peer-reviewed publications, including one that highlighted the effects of ingested blood-derived histamine and serotonin on A. stephensi circadian activity and retinal responses to different colors of light. When female mosquitoes ingested histamine and serotonin at blood levels associated with malaria, this greatly enhanced sensitivity to all wavelengths during the daylight hours as compared to typical nighttime sensitivity for this crepuscular mosquito. These effects were both infection- and temperature-dependent. In another study,&nbsp;they demonstrated that pantothenate (vitamin B5), which is required by mosquito and mammalian hosts as well as malaria parasites, also regulates mosquito feeding and reproduction. Notably, the decline in fecundity with age in A. stephensi mirrors the decline in total body B5 levels, both of which can be reversed by supplementation with B5.</p><br /> <p>The Piermarini lab is engaged in pesticide discovery efforts for identifying botanical-derived extracts and compounds that kill and/or repel mosquitoes via novel modes of action. In addition, the Piermarini lab is evaluating the mosquitocidal activities of natural products listed on the EPA25b list, which are active ingredients exempt from full EPA registration, against pyrethroid-resistant strains to determine if these products are effective for mitigating, or could potentially contribute to, pyrethroid-resistance. The Piermarini lab has also engaged in mechanistic research to evaluate the impacts of heat on the sensitivity of biochemical receptors to chemicals used as mosquito repellents.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Goudarz Molaei has investigated vector-host-pathogen interactions of mosquitoes and the eco-epidemiology of arboviruses in the US. He has conducted studies on the blood-feeding behavior of mosquitoes involved in the transmission of West Nile and eastern equine encephalitis viruses, as well as genetic and environmental factors modulating vector-host interactions in mosquito vectors. He has also investigated the role of mosquito species in the transmission of Dirofilaria immitis, a parasite that causes dirofilariasis. Within the framework of a passive tick and tick-borne pathogen surveillance program, he has conducted studies on biology, phenology, ecology, and the role of native and invasive ticks in the transmission of pathogens of human and veterinary health concern.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Phillip Armstrong's&nbsp;group continues to conduct research on the vector biology, control, and ecology of arboviruses.&nbsp;They recently developed a machine learning model using point-level mosquito surveillance data in Connecticut to predict the probability of detecting West Nile virus (WNV) in under-sampled spaces.&nbsp;They validated our methods using observed data not used in model development and found that&nbsp;they can accurately predict WNV detection probabilities throughout the northeastern U.S. In another paper,&nbsp;they investigated the host-feeding patterns of mosquitoes collected in North Dakota in relationship to the transmission of WNV and other medically-important arboviruses. Finally,&nbsp;they showed that sequential blood feeding enhances virus dissemination in mosquitoes across diverse arbovirus-vector pairings, but a second blood meal was insufficient to overcome a strong midgut virus escape barrier in a non-natural virus-vector pairing.</p><br /> <p>This year,&nbsp;Dr. Megan Linske's work in integrated tick management has focused on developing and testing ecologically responsible strategies that meaningfully reduce tick populations while minimizing unintended impacts on non-target species. A major emphasis has been evaluating the effectiveness of shifting treatments to the fall, when adult blacklegged ticks are most active and nymphs are beginning their overwintering process. By integrating synthetic pyrethroid applications&mdash;still among our strongest and most reliable tools&mdash;with a more targeted, seasonally informed approach, they&rsquo;re identifying high-risk areas and deploying interventions when they matter most. In parallel, they&rsquo;ve continued advancing host-targeted methods, including optimized delivery of systemic acaricides to deer and mice, and conducting field monitoring through tick drags and pollinator assessments. Collectively, this work supports a more holistic, data-driven framework for tick control that balances public health needs with ecological stewardship, and positions integrated management as a key component of long-term tick-borne disease prevention.</p><br /> <p>In the last year Dr. Gabriel Hamer's lab has made advancements in studying the biology of arthropod vectors and associated pathogens of human and animal disease.&nbsp;They published a multi-state analysis comparing the number of publications from each state on mosquitoes and ticks with the human disease burden caused by either mosquito or tick-borne pathogens to highlight states with high prevalence of human disease but less research activities.&nbsp;They published field studies collecting ticks and triatomines and reporting infection with different pathogens.&nbsp;They are close to submitting the results of our Aedes aegypti randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of an autodissemination intervention in South Texas. Finally,&nbsp;they have two systematic literature reviews under review that address publication bias in the Aedes aegypti control trial literature and the global research attention on different mosquito genera in relation to malaria or dengue endemicity status of the country.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Benjamin Cull&nbsp;has produced an updated list of tick species for the state of Minnesota, compiled from literature, museum collections, citizen science reports, and unpublished data from state health, vector control and academic partners. Data on known county-level distributions, host and pathogen associations, and seasonal activity were compiled for these tick species.&nbsp;He expects to publish this early next year. His group&nbsp;has been monitoring tick and mosquito activity in Minnesota using openly accessible crowdsourced data from iNaturalist &ndash;&nbsp;their research with this platform has shown that it is an effective passive surveillance method that can be used to monitor human contact with native and invasive vector species, providing freely accessible data on vector distribution and seasonal activity comparable to existing passive monitoring methods. To improve the utility of data from this platform,&nbsp;they have developed algorithms to provide confidence scores relating to identification and geolocation.</p><br /> <p>The Biting Insect &amp; Tick Ecology (BITE) Lab (Dr. Hannah Tiffin) at the University of Kentucky (UK) was recently established in early 2025 and has provided tick and insect identification services for Kentucky stakeholders, extension education, and research focused on vector-borne diseases, particularly at the human-animal interface.&nbsp;They conducted environmental surveillance for ticks on agricultural lands used for beef cattle and horses in Kentucky, that could expose animals and humans to tick-borne conditions.&nbsp;They are developing a small mammal nesting box that could be used to assist with tick surveillance in areas humans are at increased risk of tick-borne diseases, as small mammals harbor many disease-causing pathogens that ticks can acquire and transmit to people.&nbsp;They are working with a local nature sanctuary that has high tick bite reports on its property to assess tick populations and evaluate control options. In collaboration with the USDA, the Puerto Rico Extension Service, non-profit groups, and interdisciplinary faculty at UK,&nbsp;they conducted research in Puerto Rico to assess tick populations affecting horses and possibly people.&nbsp;They evaluated tick burden and species composition on horses that are kept near people&rsquo;s homes and/or are used frequently for transportation or tourism, potentially exposing riders to tick bites.</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;Major activities in&nbsp;Dr. Megan Meuti's lab include working towards identifying the environmental and biological drivers of seasonal West Nile virus, evaluating the efficacy and environmental impact of mosquito control, and determining how mosquitoes measure seasonal changes in daylength to initiate their overwintering dormancy.&nbsp;They have continuously collected mosquitoes from 16 sites in Ohio (8 urban and 8 rural) on a weekly or biweekly basis for the entire year. All Culex mosquitoes have been identified to species and are being tested for the presence of West Nile virus.&nbsp;They have found the highest Culex abundance in the month of that although more total mosquitoes were collected from rural areas, more mosquitoes in urban areas are infected with West Nile virus.&nbsp;They have also collected mosquitoes from residential properties where homeowners have opted-out of mosquito control, opted-in to municipal control, opted into municipal and commercial sprays, and opted to have mosquito-specific traps placed on their properties. So far, they have found that while the abundance of pollinators was the same across treatments, moths were significantly less abundant in sites that received municipal and commercial sprays. Additionally, the mosquito-specific traps did not adequately control mosquitoes. Members of the Meuti lab have also published our findings demonstrating that knocking out the circadian clock gene, cycle, prevents mosquitoes from tracking both daily and seasonal changes in daylength.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Dana Price's&nbsp;lab focuses on functional genomic analyses of vector arthropods and their holobiont - that is, the host and assemblage of commensal organisms (viruses, bacteria and eukaryotes) that live within and around them. This often involves identifying, characterizing and surveilling emerging zoonotic infectious diseases within arthropod hosts as well as the environment.</p><br /> <p>Under Objective 2.1, Dr. Bruce Noden's lab explored the ecology and geographic distribution of native disease vectors under changing environmental conditions by: 1) mapping tick &lsquo;hot spots&rsquo; and infection status of native tick vectors in culturally important sites for Choctaw nation in south-central and southeast Oklahoma, and 2) monitoring native tick vectors and their bacterial infections under varying levels of encroachment by a native woody plant that is invading central and western Oklahoma.&nbsp;They also focused on Objective 2.2 by making novel discoveries of the fine-scale habitat usage of Culex species and Aedes albopictus within areas of invasive woody plant encroachment in Oklahoma.&nbsp;They identified that A. albopictus and Culex species are significantly more likely to be collected in the ecotone or within grassways within eastern red cedar than in adjacent grassland. This has important implications for vast areas of the Great Plains experiencing anthropogenic change due to native invasion of grassland by eastern red cedar.</p><br /> <p>The seasonality of Haemaphysalis longicornis in the United States features overlapping life stages in spring and summer, partly because all stages can overwinter. To assess whether lipid reserves reflect physiological condition, Dr. Alvaro Toledo's lab measured lipid content in unfed, laboratory-reared ticks for up to 480 days. Lipids declined significantly over time in adults, nymphs, and larvae, indicating their usefulness for evaluating field population structure. Analysis of field-collected ticks (March&ndash;October) revealed distinct seasonal patterns: spring nymphs formed high- and low-lipid cohorts that overlapped in April and May; larvae showed higher lipid levels in spring than fall, suggesting that fall-active larvae do not overwinter; and adults displayed both high- and low-lipid groups throughout the season, consistent with a continuous influx of newly molted adults until late season, when only low-lipid individuals remained. Overall, physiological condition analysis revealed a complex univoltine life cycle with overlapping cohorts, particularly among adults.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Paul Leisnham's group&nbsp;used controlled field and laboratory trials to test the effects of various environmental variables, such as temperature, water quality, and vegetation, on the outcome of competition between the mosquitoes, A. albopictus and C. pipiens.&nbsp;They completed and submitted for publication a study in which we experimentally reared Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens in mesocosms containing leaf litter representative of neighborhoods across socioeconomic gradients in Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC.&nbsp;They found that leaf litter typical of lower-income blocks, dominated by non-native tree species, enhanced mosquito survival, growth, and competitive dynamics compared to litter from higher-income blocks. These findings reveal a mechanistic pathway by which socioeconomic factors can indirectly influence mosquito population performance and, consequently, urban disease dynamics.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Jake Tu's&nbsp;research activities focused on finalizing the four haplotype-resolved genome assemblies and developing appropriate methods and tools to identify polymorphic SINE (Short Interspersed Nuclear Element) insertion sites throughout the genome. Using the finalized assemblies and new methods, they performed preliminary analyses indicating that at least ~5000 of the ~19000 insertions of one of the four SINE elements are polymorphic and a fraction of the 5000 are possibly strain specific.&nbsp;They have also begun to identify polymorphic SINE insertions from whole genome short read sequences of individual Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Preliminary results indicate that a significant portion of the insertions of the highly abundant SINE element is polymorphic. In the future,&nbsp;they will optimize and automate the analysis pipelines, perform detailed analysis of autosomal insertions of all four SINE elements to take full advantage of the available whole genome sequences of both sexes, and begin to identify population-specific SINE insertions.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Shi-Hua Xiang's group&nbsp;has been conducting anti-flaviviruses study and focusing on Zika, Dengue and West Nile viruses in collaboration with Kanas State University (Dr. Kristopher Silver&rsquo;s group) and Southern Mississippi University (Dr. Fengwei Bai&rsquo;s group). Three top-hit compounds from in-silico drug screening against the Triple-D motif of RdRp (POLcon). The cytotoxicity data (CC50) of these three compounds have been determined using standard MTT assay. The anti-viral activities against these three major viruses have also been evaluated and should be completed soon. Most of IC50 values are in the lower-micromolar range. We believe that a manuscript will be submitted for publication early next year.</p>

Publications

<ol><br /> <li>Bird, E, V Pickens, C Olds, <strong>K Silver</strong>, D Nayduch. 2025. BALROG-ISO: a high-throuput pipeline for bacterial antimicrobial resistance annotation of genomes &ndash; isolate whole genome. <em>microPublication Biology</em>. DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001719.</li><br /> <li>Cooper, AMW, K Pfeiffer, KE Reif, <strong>KS Silver</strong>, DN Mitzel. 2025. Protocol for synchronizing waveforms and videos from electropenetrography studies of arthropods. <em>Star Protocols</em>. 6: 104038. DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2025.104038</li><br /> <li>Cooper, A.M.W, CJ Osborne, V Pickens, K Pfeiffer, SB Jameson, A Rodrigo da Silva, KE Reif, DN Mitzel, <strong>KS Silver</strong><em>.</em> 2025&nbsp;A waveform library for the study of probing and ingestion behaviors of&nbsp;<em>Culicoides sonorensis</em>using AC&ndash;DC electropenetrography.&nbsp;<em>Parasites and Vectors</em>&nbsp;18: 265. DOI: 10.1186/s13071-025-06899-5.</li><br /> <li>Bird, E, V Pickens, D Molik, <strong>KS Silver</strong>, D Nayduch. 2025. BALROG-MON: a high-throughput pipeline for Bacterial AntimicrobiaL Resistance annOtation of Genomes-Metagenomic Oxford Nanopore. <em>microPublication Biology</em>. DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001427.</li><br /> <li>Nguyen VT, Dryden DS, Broder BA, Tadimari A, Tanachiwiwat P, Mathias DK, Thongsripong P, Reeves LE, Ali R, Gebhardt ME, Saili K, Simubali L, Simulundu E, Norris DE, Lee Y. 2025. A comprehensive review: biology of <em>Anopheles squamosus</em>, an understudied malaria vector in Africa. <em>Insects</em>. 16; 110. DOI: 10.3390/insects16020110.</li><br /> <li>Seok S, Blore K, Smoleroff S, Lee Y. Investigation of insecticide resistance profile of St. Johns County populations of <em>Aedes aegypti</em> and <em>Aedes albopictus</em> to permethrin. 2025. <em>J Florida Mosq Cont Assoc</em>. 72; 89-91. DOI: 10.32473/jfmca.72.1.139364.</li><br /> <li>Romero-Weaver AL, Nguyen VT, Bae J, Seok S, Bauer A, Magaletta O, Mullin M, Byrd BD, Clark M, Ber J, Harrison RL, Evans CL, Zohdy S, Allen B, Campbell LP, Killingsworth D, Giordano BV, Gray EW, Riegel C, Riles MT, Lee Y. Survey in the southeastern United States reveals the need for improved invasive mosquito surveillance. 2025. <em>J Am Mosq Cont Assoc</em>. 41; 77-85. DOI: 10.2987/25-7216.</li><br /> <li>Seok S, Vorsino AE, Collier TC, Hapairai L, Jacobson CM, Hasty JM, Romero-Weaver AL, Buckner EA, LaPointe DA, Leong M, Tabuloc CA, Chiu JC, Raban R, Akbari OS, Lee Y. 2025. Population genomics of <em>Aedes albopictus</em> across remote Pacific Islands for genetic biocontrol considerations. <em>PLoS Negl Trop Dis.</em> 19; e0013414. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013414. PMCID: PMC12352873.</li><br /> <li>Nguyen VT, Ali RLMN, Burini BC, Dryden DS, Riddin MA, Saili K, Simulundu E, Reeves LE, Norries DE, Lee Y. (2025). A new assay for molecular identification of <em>Anopheles squamosus</em> (Diptera: Culicidae) using internal transcribed spacer 2. 2025. <em>Malaria J</em>. 24; 345. DOI: 10.1186/s12936-025-05600-6.</li><br /> <li>Seok S, McCollum MT, Jacobsen CM, Akbari OS, Mathias DK, Lee Y. 2025. Pyrethroid insecticide resistance of <em>Aedes albopictus</em> and <em>Aedes aegypti</em> (Diptera: Culicidae) across the Hawaiian Islands. <em>Parasites and Vectors</em>. DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7303372/v1.</li><br /> <li>Gonzalez J, Harvey C, Ribeiro-Silva CS, Leal-Galvan B, Persinger KA, Olafson PU, Johnson TL, Oliva Chavez A. 2025. Evaluation of tick salivary and midgut extracellular vesicles as anti-tick vaccines in white-tailed deer (<em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>). 2025. <em>Ticks Tick Borne Dis</em>. 16; 102420. DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2024.102420. PMID: 39667072.</li><br /> <li>Cassens J, Oliva Chavez AS, Tufts DM, Zhong J, Faulk C, Oliver JD. Whole genome sequencing reveals clade-specific genetic variation in blacklegged ticks. 2025. <em>Ecol Evol</em>. 15; e70987. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70987. PMID: 39944902; PMCID: PMC11814477.</li><br /> <li>Oliva Ch&Atilde;&iexcl;vez A, Gonzalez J, Harvey C, Ribeiro-Silva CS, Leal-Galvan B, Persinger KA, Durski S, Olafson PU, Johnson TL. 2025. Identification of potential <em>Amblyomma americanum</em> antigens after vaccination with tick extracellular vesicles in white-tailed deer. 2025. <em>Vaccines</em>. 13; 355. DOI: 10.3390/vaccines13040355. PMID: 40333200; PMCID: PMC12031118.</li><br /> <li>Marnin L, Valencia LM, Bogale HN, Laukaitis-Yousey HJ, Rolandelli A, Ferraz CR, O'Neal AJ, Schmitter-S&Atilde;&iexcl;nchez AD, Cuevas EB, Nguyen TT, Leal-Galvan B, Rickert DM, Mendes MT, Samaddar S, Butler LR, Singh N, Cabrera Paz FE, Wu-Chuang A, Oliver JD, Jameson JM, Munderloh UG, Oliva Ch&Atilde;&iexcl;vez AS, Mulenga A, Park S, Serre D, Pedra JHF. Tick Extracellular vesicles alter epidermal keratinocyte function. 2025. <em>J Invest Dermatol</em>. S0022-202X; 02414-5. DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2025.08.037. PMID: 40915408; PMCID: PMC12603915.</li><br /> <li>Ortiz, Y. V., Casas, S. A., Tran, M. N. D., Decker, E. G., Saborit, I., Le, H. N., Caragata, E. P., Reeves, L. E., &amp; Thongsripong, P. 2025. Mosquito population dynamics and blood host associations in two types of urban greenspaces in coastal Florida. <em>Insects</em>. 16; 233. DOI: 10.3390/insects16030233.</li><br /> <li>Ortiz, Y. V., Pacrez-Ramos, D. W., Caragata, E. P., and Thongsripong, P. 2025. Dengue and dengue virus in Florida. 2025. ENY2116/IN1438, 12/2024. EDIS. DOI: 10.32473/edis-in1438-2024.</li><br /> <li>Thongsripong, P., Ortiz, Y. V., Casas, S. A., &amp; Buckner, E. A. (2025). From bites to bytes: Evaluating user engagement and mosquito bite exposure patterns with the bite diary smartphone application. <em>American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene</em>. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.24-0575.</li><br /> <li>Magistrado, D., &amp; Short, S. M. 2025. Bacterial infection elicits the <em>Aedes aegypti</em> unfolded protein response. <em>Open Biology</em>. 15; 250207.</li><br /> <li>Kelly, B. J., Joseph, N. C., Magistrado, D., &amp; Short, S. M. 2025. The effects of mating and blood feeding on the immune defense of female <em>Aedes aegypti</em> mosquitoes. <em>PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases</em>. 19; e0013542.</li><br /> <li>Foo, A., Brettell, L. E., Nichols, H. L., et al.. 2025. MosAIC: An annotated collection of mosquito-associated bacteria with high-quality genome assemblies. <em>PLoS Biology</em>. 22; e3002897.</li><br /> <li>Roberts, C., J. Brown, M. Esoldo, K. Green, G. Z. Chambers, R. T. Marconi, B. Andrews, S. Thangamani, L. Durden, and E. T. Machtinger. 2025. Ectoparasite burden and tick-borne pathogen prevalence in eastern gray squirrels: A suburban risk factor for tick-borne disease<em>. Journal of Medical Entomology</em>. DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaf125.</li><br /> <li>M Schierer, SM De Urioste-Stone, and AM Gardner. 2025. An ecological and social approach to the distribution of vector and nuisance mosquito species across residential land use types. <em>Journal of Medical Entomology</em>. 62; 970-983.</li><br /> <li>SN Hurd and AM Gardner. 2025. Timber harvesting impacts small mammal foraging behavior and larval tick infestation. <em>PLoS One.</em> 20; e0325495.</li><br /> <li>GM Dill, TF Rounsville, Jr., AM Bryant, E Groden, and AM Gardner. 2024. Effects of <em>Peromyscus</em> spp. (Rodentia: Cricetidae) presence, land use, and ecotone on <em>Ixodes scapularis</em> (Acari: Ixodidae) ecology in an emergent area for tick-borne disease. <em>Journal of Medical Entomology.</em> 61; 1478-1488.</li><br /> <li>LE Price, JM Winter, JL Cantoni, DW Cozens, MA Linske, SC Williams, GM Dill, AM Gardner, SP Elias, TF Rounsville, Jr., RP Smith, Jr., MW Palace, C Herrick, MA Prusinski, P Casey, EM Doncaster, JDT Savage, DI Wallace, and X Shi. 2024. Spatial and temporal distribution of <em>Ixodes scapularis</em> and tick-borne pathogens across the northeastern United States. <em>Parasites and Vectors.</em> 17; e481.</li><br /> <li>BA Lieberthal, BF Allan, SM De Urioste-Stone, AJ Mackay, A Soliman, S Wang, and AM Gardner. 2024. The effects of seasonal human mobility and <em>Aedes aegypti</em> habitat suitability on Zika virus epidemic severity in Colombia. <em>PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.</em> 18; e001257.</li><br /> <li>AM Urcuqui-Bustamante, KC Perry, JE Leahy, AM Gardner, and C Sponarski. 2024. Psychosocial determinants of Lyme disease preventive behavior among outdoor recreationists. <em>Environment and Behavior.</em> 56; 59-93.</li><br /> <li>AM Urcuqui-Bustamante, KC Perry, JE Leahy, CC Sponarski, and AM Gardner. 2024. Factors influencing private woodland owners land management decisions on Lyme disease mitigation in Maine. <em>Trees, Forests, and People.</em> 7; e100603.</li><br /> <li>AE Ali, AM Gardner, HH Shugart, and JA Walter. 2024. Opposing patterns of spatial synchrony in Lyme disease incidence in the Northeast and upper Midwest US. <em>EcoHealth</em>. 21; 46-55.</li><br /> <li>SN Hurd, LS Kenefic, JE Leahy, CC Sponarski, and AM Gardner. 2024. Cascading impacts of overstory structure in managed forests on understory structure, microclimate conditions, and <em>Ixodes scapularis</em> (Acari: Ixodidae) densities. <em>Journal of Medical Entomology.</em> 61; 686-700.</li><br /> <li>Kasu R, Luo H, Luckhart S, Christodoulides D, Vasdekis A. 2025. Single Objective Airy Light-Sheet Imaging. <em>ACS Photonics</em>. 12; 2432-2439.</li><br /> <li>Ochwedo KO, Wang X, Caspedes N, Bentil RE, Wild R, Hernandez E, Hernandez A, Kaylor HL, Debebe Y, Datta J, Robert MA, Riffell JA, Lewis EE, Luckhart S. 2025. Regulation of circadian activity and retinal responses of <em>Anopheles stephensi</em> by ingested histamine and serotonin is temperature- and infection-dependent. <em>PLoS Pathogens</em>. 21; e1013139.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><br /> <li>Gilvarg SC, Leydetb B, Dovciakb M, Smith AMS, Millere DL, Luckhart S, Lashley MA, Vander Yacht AL. 2025. Integrating wildland fire into One Health to benefit ecosystems, animals, plants, and people. <em>BioScience</em>. biaf068.</li><br /> <li>Dobson ME, Kaylor HL, Pruett SL, Brady J, Savoie-Penton K, Isoe J, Debebe Y, Riehle MA, Luckhart S. 2025. Pantothenate regulates feeding and reproduction in the malaria vector <em>Anopheles stephensi</em>, with patterns dependent on supplementation scheme and parental nutrition. <em>Parasites and Vectors</em>. 18; 334.</li><br /> <li>Park, P.M. Piermarini. 2025. Heat activation desensitizes <em>Aedes aegypti</em> transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (AaTRPA1) to chemical agonists that repel mosquitoes. <em>Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology.</em> 209; 106326.</li><br /> <li>Rochlin I, Kenney J, Little E, Molaei G. 2025. Public health significance of the white-tailed deer (<em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>) and its role in the eco-epidemiology of tick- and mosquito-borne diseases in North America. <em>Parasit Vectors</em>. 18; 43. DOI: 10.1186/s13071-025-06674-6.</li><br /> <li>Molaei G, Mohapatra AR, Khalil N, Cozens D, Bonilla D. <em>Ehrlichia chaffeensis</em> DNA in <em>Haemaphysalis longicornis</em> ticks, Connecticut, USA. <em>Emerg Infect Dis</em>. 31;1260-1262. DOI: 10.3201/eid3106.250034.</li><br /> <li>Anderson JF, Bransfield A, Misencik MJ, Jones S, Main AJ, Armstrong PM, Andreadis TG, Molaei G. 2025. Host-feeding behavior of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in North Dakota, 2003 to 2006. <em>J Med Entomol</em>. 62; 621-632. DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaf021.</li><br /> <li>Khalil N, Sandland L, Molaei G. 2025. Cross-continental hitchhiking of exotic ticks on human travelers and ensuing public health challenges in the USA. <em>iScience</em>. 28; 113223. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113223.</li><br /> <li>Khalil N, Chang A, Sandland L, Feder HM Jr, Molaei G. 2025. A case of illness following a bite by a male lone star tick (<em>Amblyomma americanum</em> Linnaeus) infected with <em>Ehrlichia sp</em>. and <em>Rickettsia amblyommatis</em> in Connecticut, United States. <em>Clin Case Rep</em>. 13; e70825. DOI: 10.1002/ccr3.70825.</li><br /> <li>Ferdous Z, Dieme C, Sproch H, Kramer LD, Ciota AT, Brackney DE, Armstrong PM. 2025. Multiple bloodmeals enhance dissemination of arboviruses in three medically relevant mosquito genera. <em>Parasit Vectors.</em> 17; 432.</li><br /> <li>Anderson JF, Bransfield A, Misencik MJ, Jones S, Main AJ, Armstrong PM, Andreadis TG, Molaei G. 2025. Host-feeding behavior of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in North Dakota, 2003 to 2006. <em>J Med Entomol</em>. 62; 621-632.</li><br /> <li>McMillan JR, Sun J, Chaves LF, Armstrong PM. 2025. Using mosquito and arbovirus data to computationally predict West Nile virus in unsampled areas of the Northeast United States. <em>PNAS Nexus</em>. 4; pgaf227.</li><br /> <li>Killets, K.C.; Wormington, J.; Zecca, I.; Chaves, L.F.; Hamer, G.L.; Hamer, S.A. 2025. Comparative feeding and defecation behaviors of <em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em>-infected and uninfected triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) from the Americas. <em>Insects.</em> 16; 188.</li><br /> <li>Beatty NL, Bhosale CR, White ZS, Torhorst CW, Wilson KN, Dorleans R, Stenn TMS, Killets K, Curtis-Robles R, Burkett-Cadena N, Nova&Igrave;kov&Atilde;&iexcl; E, Hamer GL, Hamer SA, Wisely SM. 2025. Field evidence of <em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em> infection, diverse host use and invasion of human dwellings by the Chagas disease vector in Florida, USA<em>.&nbsp; PLoS Negl Trop Dis.</em> 19; e0012920.</li><br /> <li>Fernandez-Santos NA, Rodriguez-Pacrez MA, Segovia-Mancillas S, Rodriguez L, Hamer SA, Hamer GL, Correa-Morales F, Medina-Jaramillo S, Palacios-Mendoza MG, Cruz-Aldan E, Rodriguez-Dominguez G, Gomez-Hernandez CH, Larraga-Guillan A, L&Atilde;&sup3;pez Gonzalez I, Rodriguez-Martinez LM, Ortega-Morales AI, Salazar-Sanchez MA, Valdez-Gamez HE, Marquez Ruiz MJ, Perteguer-Prieto MJ, G&Atilde;&sup3;mez-Gordillo BG, Aguilar-Duran JA, Becker Fauser ID, Weaver S, Turell M, Kramer L, Estrada-Franco JG. 2025. Proceedings from the Fourth Mesoamerican Symposium on Emerging Zoonotic Disease and Arboviruses: Commenting insights and research findings. <em>Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine</em>. 16; 65-89.</li><br /> <li>Beatty NL, Hamer GL, Moreno-Peniche B, Mayes B, Hamer SA. 2025. Chagas disease, an endemic disease in the United States of America. <em>Emerg Infect Dis.</em> 31;1691-1697.</li><br /> <li>Tian Y, DeWitt L, Almeida RS, Clark M, Obregon D, Adame S, Davis T, Mendez-Maio NE, Hamer, GL. 2025. A systematic review of the associations between mosquito and tick-borne diseases and vector research in the United States. <em>Journal of Medical Entomology</em>. 62; 1047-1056.</li><br /> <li>Salomon J, Montemayor H, Durden C, Abiara D, Busselman RE, Hamer GL, Hamer SA. 2025. Tick phenology, tick-host associations, and tick-borne pathogen surveillance in a recreational forest of East Texas, USA. <em>PLoS ONE.</em> 20; e0330826.</li><br /> <li>Killets KC, Perez-Rascan KM, Juarez JG, Hamer GL, Hamer SA. 2025. Survival of <em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em> in dead <em>Triatoma gerstaeckeri</em> under laboratory conditions. <em>Am J Trop Med Hyg.</em> 16; 188.</li><br /> <li>Garza, M., Curtis-Robles, R., Sittenauer, S., and Hamer, G. L. 2025. Clear resin casting of arthropods for use in education, outreach, and research. <em>Journal of Visualized Experiments</em>. <em>In press</em>.</li><br /> <li>Tiffin, H.S., Gordon, J.R., and Poh, K.C. 2025. One Health, many approaches: Integrated vector management strategies support One Health goals. <em>Front. Insect Sci</em>. 5; 1549348.</li><br /> <li>Fiorta, M.A., Fyie, L.R. and Meuti, M.E., 2024. Light pollution disrupts seasonal reproductive phenotypes and reduces lifespan in the West Nile vector, <em>Culex pipiens</em>. <em>Journal of Insect Physiology.</em> 159; 104725.</li><br /> <li>Wolkoff, M., Yoshida, M., Lowmiller, T., Sim, C. and Meuti, M.E., 2025. The cycle gene is essential for both daily responses and seasonal reproduction in the Northern house mosquito, <em>Culex pipiens</em>. <em>Scientific Reports.</em> 15; 28279.</li><br /> <li>Egizi, A., Bezhani, F., Jordan, R.A. &amp; Price, D.C. 2025. Parasitism of a US traveler by a nymphal <em>Amblyomma tapirellum</em> Dunn, 1933 (Ixodida: Ixodidae) and review of exotic tick interceptions on humans in the US. <em>Journal of Medical Entomology</em>. tjaf109. DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaf109.</li><br /> <li>Barnes, M., Moustafa, M.A., Wagner, N.E., &amp; Price, D.C. (2025). The complete genome of a <em>Serratia marcescens</em> strain isolated from mosquito excreta. <em>Microbiology Resource Announcements</em>. e00743-25. DOI: 10.1128/mra.00743-25.</li><br /> <li>Narvaez, Z.E., Egizi, A.M., Yabsley, M.J., Thompson, A.T., Moustafa, M.A., Alt, E., Bickerton, M., Bjorgo, K., Butler, R.A., Cumbie, A., Eastwood, G., Falco, R.C., Fonseca, D.M., Hang, J., Harper, V.L., Lewis, N., Lovy, J., Maestas, L.P., Mather, T.N., Nakao, R., Occi, J.L., Rainey, T., Sal, M., Stoops, C.A., Trout-Fryxell, R.T., Watson, W., Wagner, N.E., Zheng, A., Saelao, P., &amp; Price, D.C. 2025. Multiple introductions of the Asian Longhorned Tick (<em>Haemaphysalis longicornis</em>) to the United States revealed using mitogenomics. <em>Ecology and Evolution</em> 15; e71312. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.71312.</li><br /> <li>Moustafa, M.A.M., Barnes, M., Wagner, N., Bodine, D., Teel, P.D., Saelao, P. &amp; Price, D.C. 2025. Genome of the invasive North American <em>Haemaphysalis longicornis</em> tick as a template for bovine anti-tick vaccine discovery. <em>BMC Genomics.</em> 26: 1-14. DOI: 10.1186/s12864-025-11477-1.</li><br /> <li>Moustafa, M.A.M., Wagner, N.E., Narvaez, Z.E., Price, D.C. 2025. Molecular detection of a canine respiratory pathogen, <em>Mycoplasma cynos</em>, in the lone star tick <em>Amblyomma americanum</em> (Acari: Ixodidae). <em>Journal of Medical Entomology.</em> DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaf062.</li><br /> <li>Henriquez, BE, Loss, SR, Noden, BH. 2025. Mosquitoes in small urban spaces: identification of blood meals and flight distances of engorged females in southern Great Plains. <em>Journal of Medical Entomology.</em> 62; 1200-1207.</li><br /> <li>Henriquez, BE, Talley JL, Loss SR, Noden BH. 2025 Mosquito abundance, blood feeding, and West Nile virus infection in association with woody plant encroachment in the U.S. Great Plains. <em>Journal of Vector Ecology</em>. 50; 100-110.</li><br /> <li>Horton O., Propst J., Loss SR, Noden BH. 2024. Tick utilization of eastern redcedar encroached areas at the individual tree scale in Oklahoma. <em>Southwestern Entomologist</em>. 49; 1-9.</li><br /> <li>Propst, J, Taylor T, Loss SR, Noden BH. 2025. Effects of woody plant encroachment on abundance of multiple tick species in the U.S. Great Plains. <em>Plos One.</em> 20; e0332832.</li><br /> <li>Taylor, T, Loss, SR, Noden, BH. 2025. <em>Rickettsia</em> and <em>Ehrlichia</em> of veterinary and public health importance in ticks collected from birds in the Great Plains of the United States. <em>Pathogens</em>. 14; 461.</li><br /> <li>Taylor, TC, Propst JD, Noden BH, Loss, SR. 2025. Tick infestation of birds in grasslands experiencing woody plant encroachment in the United States Great Plains. <em>Journal of Medical Entomology</em>. 62; 1306-1316.</li><br /> <li>Bickerton M, Gonz&aacute;lez J, Toledo A. 2025. Insights on the phenology of the Asian longhorned tick (<em>Haemaphysalis longicornis</em>) using stored lipids. <em>Insect Science</em>. DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.70009. PMID: 40017090.</li><br /> <li>Rothman, <em>et al</em>. Leaf litter characteristic of low-income urban blocks improves population performance and eases competition between <em>Aedes albopictus</em> (Diptera: Culicidae) and <em>Culex pipiens</em> mosquitoes. <em>Journal of Medical Entomology</em>. In review.</li><br /> </ol><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p><br /> <p><strong>Extension publications</strong></p><br /> <ol><br /> <li>Nguyen VT, Magaletta OR, Lee Y. Anopheles squamosus (Theobald, 1901) (Insecta: Diptera: Culicidae: Culicine). AskIFAS Featured Creatures Series. 2025. *** In Press ***</li><br /> <li>Bae JS, Lee Y. The empire strikes back: insect &acirc;&euro;&oelig;carbonization&acirc;&euro; through hand sanitizer. UF/IFAS Blogs. 2025. https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/entnemdept/2025/07/30/the-empire-strikes-back-insect-carbonization-through-hand-sanitizer/</li><br /> <li>Lee Y. Educational poster about Anopheles mosquitoes. UF/IFAS Blogs. 2025. https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/fmel/2025/07/04/anopheles_mosquito_educational_poster/</li><br /> </ol><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p><br /> <p><strong>Alternative Media</strong></p><br /> <ol><br /> <li>Magaletta OR, Allen B, Campbell LP, Giordano BV, Gray EW, Killingsworth D, Riegel C, Riles MT, Lee Y. Educational Outcomes Delivered by the Mosquito BEACONS Invasive Mosquito Workshops (2021-2024). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=708sEZw-YR8</li><br /> <li>Blosser I, Lee Y. &acirc;&euro;&oelig;My Mosquito Biology Coloring Book&acirc;&euro; Paperback: ISBN 9781304914729 [Lulu link][UF/IFAS Bookstore link]</li><br /> </ol><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Impact Statements

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Report Information

Participants

Jennifer Peterson, University of Delaware
Adela S Oliva Chavez; University of Wisconsin
Annaliese Pena; University of Florida
Afsoon Sabet; The Ohio State University
Michael Reiskind; North Carolina State University
Tammi Johnson; Texas A&M University
Risa Pesapane; The Ohio State University
Karen Poh; USDA-ARS-ADRU
Eric Caragata; University of Florida
Erika Machtinger; Pennsylvania State University
Jennifer Henke; Coachella Valley Mosquito Vector Control District

Brief Summary of Minutes

The annual meeting of NE 2443 was held on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in association with the annual meeting of the Society of Vector Ecology (SoVE) in Fish Camp, CA. The meeting included introductory remarks by the co-chair (Jennifer Peterson). The meeting included nine presentations by project members or their laboratory personnel. The meeting ended with concluding remarks by the chair, and preparation of a form to collect year-long project data from the members. The presentation schedule is below:

• 12:00 - 12:10    NE2443 Multistate meeting welcome and introduction
  
  
  
  • Jennifer Peterson, jkp@udel.edu; University of Delaware
  
  
  
  


• 12:10 -12:20    Contrasting epigenetics of Ixodes scapularis populations
  
  
  
  • Adela S Oliva Chavez; olivachvez@wisc.edu; University of Wisconsin
  
  
  
  


• 12:20 -12:30    Understanding vector behavior for better mosquito-borne disease prediction
  
  
  
  • Annaliese Pena; a.pena1@ufl.edu; University of Florida
  
  
  
  


• 12:30 - 12:40   Drivers of blacklegged tick presence and abundance in Ohio
  
  
  
  • Afsoon Sabet; sabet.17@osu.edu; The Ohio State University
  
  
  
  


• 12:40 - 12:50   Drivers of heterogeneous insecticide resistance in Aedes albopictus within a city: The role of socioeconomic indicators
  
  
  
  • Michael Reiskind; mhreiski@ncsu.edu; North Carolina State University
  
  
  
  


• 12:50 -1:00      BREAK


• 1:00 - 1:10       Tick-mediated maintenance of Rickettsia parkeri in Amblyomma maculatum s.l. in the Madrean Archipelago of Arizona
  
  
  
  • Tammi Johnson; Tammi.Johnson@ag.tamu.edu; Texas A&M University 
  
  
  
  


• 1:10 - 1:20       Ticks of Ohio: the hard ticks and soft ticks found in the Buckeye State since 1908
  
  
  
  • Risa Pesapane; pesapane.1@osu.edu;The Ohio State University
  
  
  
  


• 1:20 - 1:30       Control strategies for theileriosis and Asian longhorned ticks: Updates from USDA-ARS Animal Disease Research Unit
  
  
  
  • Karen Poh; Karen.Poh@usda.gov; USDA-ARS-ADRU
  
  
  
  


• 1:30 - 1:40       Population genomics, insecticide resistance, and Wolbachia infection of invasive Aedes in the Pacific Islands
  
  
  
  • Eric Caragata; e.caragata@ufl.edu; University of Florida
  
  
  
  


• 1:40 - 1:50       A return to hands-on extension through residential tick risk assessments
  
  
  
  • Erika Machtinger; etm10@psu.edu; Pennsylvania State University
  
  
  
  


• 1:50 - 2:00       NE2443 Multistate meeting Closing Remarks
  
  
  
  • Jennifer Peterson; jkp@udel.edu; University of Delaware
  
  
  
  

 

Collaborative Accomplishments Toward Project Objectives

<p>The lab of Dr. Adela Oliva Chavez (Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison)&nbsp;demonstrated that exposure of ticks to different climatic conditions (winter in Wisconsin versus Texas) affects the DNA methylation of colony maintained ticks, suggesting that ticks change their methylation profile in response to environmental conditions. We also showed that changes in expression of DNA methyltransferase 1 are similar to those that we observed in ticks collected from the field.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Sarah Hamer's lab&nbsp;continues to advance studies of the ecology of triatomine (kissing bug) insect vectors of the Chagas disease parasite, having recently completed sequencing for bloodmeal analysis of &gt;200 insects in our Kissing Bug Community Science program. This work revealed that some individual insects have fed from 6 or more different host species, and domestic dog is the most represented host species in the sample set. In fall 2025, we achieved a milestone of surpassing 10,000 kissing bugs submitted by members of the public across the 28 southern United States. We have made progress in the antiparasitic treatment studies of naturally infected dogs, showing that modified twice weekly benznidazole treatment protocol leads to parasitologic cure and improved clinical status in treated dogs. We also are advancing ecological research on flea- and tick-borne Rickettsia species in the Americas.</p><br /> <p>Research in Dr. Gardner&rsquo;s lab focuses on the ecology and management of ticks and tick-borne pathogens. Over the past year, work in my lab included: 1) completion of a multi-year field study evaluating the effectiveness of beta-cyfluthrin insecticide for control of Ixodes scapularis in residential environments; 2) an ongoing multi-year study of the impacts of invasive glossy buckthorn on densities and infection prevalence of I. scapularis, microclimate conditions, and deer and small mammal host activity patterns; and 3) a social science study encompassing qualitative focus groups and a quantitative survey instrument that explores how people make decisions about how to manage ticks and pollinators around the home.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Erika Machtinger's&nbsp;research has focused on tick ecology, host&ndash;tick interactions, tick-borne pathogens, and integrated tick management. I continued multi-year field studies evaluating host-targeted tick control, and completed residential tick sampling to better understand Ixodes scapularis abundance and human exposure risk. I also advanced development of the Tick Risk Assessment Protocol (TRAP), which integrates habitat, wildlife, structural, human-use, and tick data to assess residential tick risk and guide prevention.My animal research included studies of acquired tick resistance in white-tailed deer, examining how repeated tick exposure influences subsequent tick feeding and host responses. I also established the Tick Research Excellence Facility (T-REx) to support laboratory colonies of Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum for controlled research.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Alvaro Toledo's&nbsp;research focuses on understanding the biology, seasonal dynamics, and management of the invasive Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, with the goal of developing more effective surveillance and control strategies. Recent work examined tick physiological condition by measuring stored lipids as a marker of physiological age. Laboratory studies demonstrated progressive lipid depletion in unfed larvae, nymphs, and adults, allowing lipid reserves to be used to distinguish cohorts within field populations. Analysis of field-collected ticks revealed a complex univoltine phenology, including overlapping high- and low-lipid nymphal populations in spring, differences between spring and fall larvae, and evidence of continued recruitment of newly molted adults throughout the season. Building on this understanding of seasonal population dynamics, our laboratory is investigating sustainable approaches for controlling H. longicornis. Current unpublished research evaluates commercial Beauveria- and Metarhizium-based bioinsecticides under laboratory and field conditions. Laboratory experiments demonstrate substantial pathogenicity, with efficacy influenced by fungal species, concentration, tick life stage, and application method. We have also demonstrated the potential for fungal autodissemination between ticks. However, field efficacy was considerably more variable, emphasizing the importance of environmental conditions and formulation in translating laboratory efficacy into operational tick control. Together, these studies integrate tick physiology, phenology, and biological control to improve management of this emerging invasive vector.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Shirley Luckhart's lab has&nbsp;continued to investigate the role of pantothenate (Pan, vitamin B5) in mosquito-malaria parasite interactions. Specifically, we have affirmed that pantothenate supplementation of Anopheles stephensi can enhance parasite infection, while depletion of Pan in the mosquito host can significantly reduce parasite infection. Further, mosquito Pan supplementation regulates blood feeding and reproduction in female mosquitoes, with transgenerational effects on the offspring of supplemented females. We have more recently adapted two second-generation therapeutics that target Pan utilization by parasites in the mosquito host, starving them of this essential nutrient. In laboratory studies, mosquito supplementation achieved 45-73% parasite transmission blocking relative to untreated mosquitoes.</p><br /> <p>The Piermarini lab has assessed the insecticidal and repellent effects of plant-derived natural products from Cannabis sativa plants on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. In addition, the Piermarini lab has characterized the physiological activities of novel biochemical targets for repellent development.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Michael Reiskind's lab has several research projects related to the Multistate Project NE2443. First, we generate data on tick distribution through active and community surveillance. Second we monitor population dynamics and insecticide resistance in the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). Finally, we examine the diversity of mosquitoes in relation to landscape features and the role of mosquito diversity in the transmission of dog heartworm.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Andrea Gloria-Soria's&nbsp;lab is running a pilot citizen science program to detect invasive Aedes mosquitos in Connecticut. We are optimizing a high throughput genotyping pipeline to identify mosquito species and screen for kdr mutations. We are collaborating with mosquito abatement districts in Washington, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to determine the presence of hybrids of the Culex pipiens complex and molestus background.</p><br /> <p>Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiosis includes a group of illnesses with similar symptoms caused by Rickettsia species bacteria. While Rickettsia rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a well-known pathogen, other SFG Rickettsia spp. can infect ticks and occasionally contribute to human disease.&nbsp;Dr. Subba Palli's lab&nbsp;conducted county-level surveillance of Dermacentor variabilis ticks in Kentucky to characterize the distribution and diversity of SFG Rickettsia. Ticks were collected from the environment from 2019 to 2024 by dragging a white cloth and through our Kentucky Tick Submission Program. In total, 2,023 D. variabilis ticks were collected from 114 counties. Rickettsia species were detected in 1% of Dermacentor variabilis ticks, including R. montanensis (0.47%), R. amblyommatis (0.13%), and R. parkeri (0.13%). These findings indicate that, while SFG Rickettsia are present at low levels in D. variabilis ticks in Kentucky, continued surveillance in counties with reported SFG rickettsiosis cases is essential to improve clinical recognition and guide public health efforts to monitor and prevent SFG rickettsiosis.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Yoosook Lee's&nbsp;project addresses the research and extension needs to improve surveillance and control of invasive mosquitoes at local and regional scale. Ecological and geographic distribution of invasive species are examined to inform mosquito control and management strategies. Lee conducted mosquito collections in all 78 municipalities in Puerto Rico. Whole genome sequencing data was collected from the natural populations to estimate population connectivity between locations and to inform various models aimed at modeling mosquito distribution and dispersal. This will be critical in assessing the impacts of various mosquito control measures including genetic biocontrol on the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases including novel genetic control strategies. Lee is also serving as the Program Director of the Mosquito BEACONS working group improving the invasive mosquito surveillance and control capacity in the Southern states including FL, GA, MS, LA, NC, SC, TX, VA, and PR. The Mosquito BEACONS working group provided invasive mosquito identification workshops in Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico during the project period to strengthen the invasive mosquito surveillance capacity in the southern region. Lee provided hands-on experience in various science fairs, summer school programs, and science class in a public elementary school to promote interest in STEM and invasive species management among K-12 students.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Megan Linske's current research focuses on evaluating integrated, ecologically informed approaches to reducing tick abundance and tick-borne disease risk. The fall acaricide project investigates the effectiveness of acaricide applications made in autumn, rather than the historically common spring applications, as a potential strategy for reducing tick populations while minimizing impacts on non-target organisms. The Integrated Tick Management project evaluates a combination of tick control strategies at residential properties, including rodent-targeted bait boxes, habitat-based approaches, and other interventions, to determine their effectiveness under real-world conditions. Complementary research is examining systemic tick control methods targeting white-footed mice and white-tailed deer, two important hosts in the blacklegged tick life cycle, to assess their potential to reduce tick burdens on wildlife hosts and interrupt tick population dynamics. Additionally, a new project is investigating developmental acaricides designed to interfere with tick development and maturation, offering a potential alternative to conventional control methods. Collectively, these projects aim to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of tick management by evaluating complementary control strategies, understanding their ecological effects, and identifying practical approaches to reducing human exposure to ticks and tick-borne pathogens.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Ryan Smith's lab&nbsp;has contributed to the Multistate project through ongoing mosquito and tick surveillance across the state of Iowa, providing information regarding vector abundance, establishment, and vector-borne disease risks. Recent work documented the continued geographic expansion of the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus in Iowa, demonstrating its establishment in new areas of the state over the last decade and improving our understanding of its spread and public health relevance. In parallel, we contributed to a population genomics study of the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, across the Great Plains, identifying evidence of genomic admixture between previously distinct lineages. These findings reveal how range expansion is shaping the genetic structure of this important disease vector and its implications for public health. Together, these activities advance our understanding of the ecology, distribution, and evolution of medically important vectors which strengthen regional preparedness for vector-borne disease threats in the United States.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Xhi-Hua Xiang's lab characterized twelve OFB3 analog compounds during the past year. First, their cytotoxicity was evaluated using the MTT assay, followed by preliminary screening of their antiviral activity against Zika virus at a concentration of 10 &mu;M. Based on the screening results, four compounds were selected for further evaluation, including determination of their EC₅₀ and CC₅₀ values. Three of the four selected compounds exhibited EC₅₀ values in the low-micromolar range against Zika virus infection. Notably, Compound 10 demonstrated potent antiviral activity against West Nile virus, with an EC₅₀ value of 2.4 &mu;M. Interestingly, the four compounds displayed distinct antiviral activity profiles against the four dengue virus subtypes, suggesting that sequence differences among the viral strains may contribute to variations in compound susceptibility. Among the compounds evaluated, Compound 9 showed the most potent activity against all four dengue subtypes in the initial screening. Importantly, all four compounds demonstrated CC₅₀ values greater than 60 &mu;M, indicating relatively low cytotoxicity. Further EC₅₀ assays will be conducted to complete the antiviral potency studies of these compounds. In addition, molecular docking studies will be performed to investigate their potential binding interactions with the active sites of viral RdRp, providing insights into their possible mechanisms of action and supporting further structure-based optimization for antiviral drug development.</p><br /> <p>Over the past year, the Dr. Stephen Dobson's lab at the University of Kentucky has focused on analysis and interpretation of the baseline adult survivorship data previously generated for Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus females and males. This work has extended the initial analyses by examining sex- and species-specific differences in survival and by placing these results in the context of published life-history and survivorship data for both species. These baseline data are intended to serve as a reference for comparison with pathogen-infected individuals and to inform estimates of vector longevity relevant to transmission potential. Analysis and writing are ongoing.</p><br /> <p>To test the effect of microbial communities on mosquito life history traits,&nbsp;Dr. Sarah Short's lab&nbsp;reared Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with a controlled microbiota (gnotobiotic) or with a conventional microbiota and compared the effect of different microbial treatments on male wing length, longevity, pupation time, and mating success. Using bacterial communities we previously collected from natural larval breeding sites in Florida, USA, we measured these traits in males reared with exposure to each microbial environment. We identified microbial communities from natural A. aegypti larval development sites that differ significantly in pupation/eclosion success and give rise to males that differ significantly in wing length and flight capacity. Over the past year, we have isolated over 200 individual bacterial strains from these communities and have identified their most likely sequence ID using NCBI BLAST. We have also identified bacterial genera that are associated with variation in adult mosquito longevity, leading to determination of multiple high-confidence candidate bacterial taxa that will be tested further for causal impacts on mosquito longevity and other life history traits. These data reveal how different microbes impact male traits critical to reproductive success, and the extent to which encountering certain microbes during larval development have life-long impacts on male reproduction and physiology.</p><br /> <p>During 2026, Dr. Benjamin Cull's lab has been running a project to update available information on Minnesota&rsquo;s tick biodiversity. This project combines online crowdsourced tick reports from iNaturalist with tick sample submissions from members of the public, vets, wildlife centers, and hunters, to collect data on ticks in Minnesota. The project has a publicly accessible website (z.umn.edu/mnticks) to share information on ticks in the state, provide weekly updates from the project, and enable access to a GIS data dashboard of historical tick records. So far in 2026, we have recorded 10 different tick species from 15 different host animals, added new County records for Gulf Coast ticks, rabbit ticks, raccoon ticks and squirrel ticks, and documented new wildlife host associations of blacklegged ticks.We are also conducting cold tolerance experiments on lone star ticks to determine conditions required for the overwintering and establishment of this tick in Minnesota. Using these results and current/projected climatic and habitat data, we will identify regions of the state most at risk of invasion, and will implement increased surveillance in these areas.We also conduct pathogen surveillance in ticks and small mammals using various sequencing technologies.</p><br /> <p>Under Objective 2.1:&nbsp;Dr. Bruce Noden's lab explored the ecology and physiology of native disease vectors by: 1) evaluating the potential for pre-harvest and post-harvest insects to play a role as reservoirs of animal and human pathogens, and 2) monitoring the impact of co-feeding of different tick species on the same host in regard to feeding success, post-feeding components, and fecundity, and 3) identifying how fire frequency and vegetation impacts tick abundance in glades in eastern Oklahoma. We have also focused on Objective 2.2 by demonstrating that blood feeding for ticks produces coordinated, element-specific reorganization rather than passive convergence toward host composition. This ionomic analysis provided a novel framework for examining how blood-feeding arthropods maintain elemental organization while assimilating large or chemically mismatched resource pulses.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Gabriel Hamer's lab&nbsp;continues to advance several projects related to advancing the surveillance and control of mosquitoes, ticks, and kissing bugs. Specifically, we published one of our studies comparing a tick trap with standard drag sampling (Wheeler et al. 2026) and now we are continuing the tick trap trials and testing them on additional species of ticks. We have also continued to advance the kissing bug kill trap which has captured over 15 species of triatomines, vectors of Chagas disease, in 4 countries (Tian et al. 2026). Finally, we are in the process of publishing our study from south Texas exploring autodissemination of pyriproxyfen as a larval control approach for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. All these projects are involving large teams of investigators from multiple states.</p><br /> <p>The focus of&nbsp;Dr. Zhijian Tu's project is to develop SINEs, a group of short retrotransposons, as markers for studying the population structure, spread, and evolution of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. SINE insertions provide an advantage over other markers for inferring genetic histories as each insertion is derived and the corresponding empty site is ancestral. We previously obtained evidence that polymorphic SINE insertions are likely abundant throughout the genome. In this reporting period, we uncovered male-specific SINE insertions from the haplotype-resolved assemblies, which are concentrated in the ~100 megabase region surrounding the male-determining locus, providing possible tools to trace population dynamics from a unique paternal perspective. Moreover, we are generating phased paternal and maternal assemblies of additional strains of Aedes aegypti and a closely related species Aedes mascarensis, to obtain male-specific as well as autosomal SINE insertion markers that are useful for genetic analysis at different evolutionary time scales. Third, we validated the use of ONT long reads as a simpler and more direct method, compared to Illumina short reads, for identifying SINE insertions from low coverage runs, providing new ways to survey SINE insertions in various populations. Finally, efforts were also spent towards preparing a manuscript reporting finalized haplotype-resolved genome assemblies and the contribution of transposons to chromosomal differentiation.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Panpim Thongsripong's research focuses on understanding the social, ecological, and biological processes driving mosquito-borne pathogen transmission, with the goal of developing effective strategies to reduce disease risk. This year, we advanced research across several interconnected areas. First, we completed a field study combining the Bite Diary app with mosquito trapping, demonstrating the importance of human outdoor activities in shaping bite exposure. Statewide surveys further examined mosquito-related concerns and preventive behaviors in Florida. We also expanded public education through bite-prevention workshops and Extension publications. Second, we published studies evaluating low-cost mosquito traps and mosquito activity at sugar bait stations. Additional research examined Culex quinquefasciatus oviposition timing, Aedes aegypti biting behavior, and mosquito resting-site microclimates. We detected insect-specific viruses in Florida mosquitoes and confirmed vertical transmission of Aedes anphevirus, contributing to our understanding of mosquito-associated viral communities. Finally, we developed micro-CT imaging methods to identify multiple blood meals in mosquitoes. Together, these efforts strengthen our understanding of mosquito-borne disease transmission and support more targeted, evidence-based surveillance, control, and prevention strategies.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Paul Leisnham's research contributed to understanding how urban vegetation and socioeconomic conditions influence the ecology of container-inhabiting mosquitoes. Working with collaborators, I coauthored two publications examining the relationships among urban plant communities, mosquito population dynamics, and socioeconomic gradients. The first study synthesized research on the relationships among neighborhood socioeconomic conditions, vegetation, and mosquito populations across the United States. We identified variation in plant communities and the leaf litter they produce as a potentially important mechanism contributing to differences in mosquito abundance among urban neighborhoods. The second study used laboratory experiments to investigate how leaf litter characteristic of neighborhoods with different socioeconomic conditions affects the growth, survival, and competitive interactions of Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens. We found that leaf litter containing nonnative tree species, including mixtures characteristic of lower-income neighborhoods, generally supported greater mosquito population performance than litter characteristic of higher-income neighborhoods. These findings provide new insights into ecological mechanisms underlying urban mosquito distributions and suggest potential applications for mosquito habitat management.</p><br /> <p>Over the past year,&nbsp;Dr. Dana Price's lab&nbsp;has continued to expand our metaviromic surveillance of mosquito-associated viruses using novel sampling template collection e.g., excreta, from a broader diversity of habitats and mosquito species. In addition, we have begun 16S amplicon microbial profiling of ca. 7,000 ticks of multiple species collected throughout urban and rural New Jersey forests as part of the PIs previous McIntire-Stennis capacity project. Finally, we continue to develop a catalog of the Culicoides biting midges throughout New Jersey using COI metabarcoding as well as morphology and have generated a draft genome sequence of Culicoides paraensis, a known vector of Oropouche virus.</p><br /> <p>Over the past year, members of&nbsp;Dr. Megan Meuti's lab have collected mosquitoes from 16 sites in Central and Northern Ohio once every one to two weeks, identified mosquitoes to species, tested all Culex mosquitoes for West Nile virus and have determined when mosquitoes enter and terminate their overwintering dormancy in the field; this research is supported by an ongoing Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases grant that is supported as an R01 through NIAID. We have also evaluated the efficacy of different mosquito management strategies as well as their impact on non-target insects; this work is supported by a USDA-NIFA-AFRI grant. We are currently analyzing these data for subsequent publications. In the past year we have published two papers related to the Multistate project, including a review article on how environmental factors affect mosquito biology as well as a research article describing a semi-field study demonstrating that artificial light at night is a more potent inhibitor of diapause initiation than elevated temperatures caused by the urban heat island effect.</p><br /> <p>In collaboration with colleagues at Virginia Tech,&nbsp;Dr. Philip Armstrong's lab evaluated the vector competency of populations of Aedes triseriatus and Aedes albopictus for different lineages of La Crosse virus (LACV) circulating in different regions of the U.S. We didn&rsquo;t detect consistent differences in transmission between any viral lineage, mosquito species, or state of origin at 14 days post-infection. These findings suggest that the absence of human cases in regions where LACV lineage 3 circulates is not modulated by a lack of vector competency in mosquitoes. In another study with colleagues at Yale University, we generated 658 Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) sequences from the northeastern U.S. to evaluate their evolutionary history and transmission patterns by phylodynamic methods. We found that JCV is one of the slowest evolving RNA viruses and has a reduced dispersal rate compared to other mosquito-borne viruses. Univoltine Aedes mosquitoes were likely to maintain the virus across years through overwintering in eggs, while multivoltine mosquitoes contribute to periodic bursts of spatial diffusion and amplification within seasons. By characterizing seasonal dynamics of JCV, we demonstrate the utility of dense sequencing and phylodynamics to disentangle complex transmission cycles.</p><br /> <p>Over the past year,&nbsp;Dr. Jennifer Peterson's lab has continued to carry out cross-scale investigations of triatomine bugs in Delaware and eastern Maryland. In these studies, I have measured Trypanosoma cruzi prevalence in Triatoma sanguisuga, the local vector species; identified the wild and domestic animals on which the vector feeds; and determined important breeding and overwintering locations for the vector. These data are currently being used to develop and validate a mathematical model to estimate risk of vector presence and infection in Delaware.</p><br /> <p>Dr Pesapane and The Ohio State University team advanced NE2443 objectives through research on emerging tick populations, associated pathogens, and environmental factors influencing exposure. Under Objectives 1 and 2, surveillance documented established Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum) populations and Rickettsia parkeri in Ohio, while collaborative work in Ohio and Pennsylvania detected medically and veterinary-relevant pathogens in invasive Asian longhorned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis). Research in eastern Ohio characterized blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) associations with vertebrate hosts and pathogens following establishment. In a recreational landscape, Gulf Coast ticks accumulated along prairie&ndash;lawn edges bordering high-use pathways, highlighting potential exposure for people and pets and the value of habitat-targeted surveillance. Experimental studies demonstrated that flooding and saturated soils reduce blacklegged tick nymphal survival and that Gulf Coast and lone star ticks can survive for extended periods on household flooring. We also developed and validated a standardized visual method for assessing immature tick engorgement, supporting consistent interpretation of host-derived ticks in ecological studies. A collaborative study compared tick-borne disease perceptions and preventive behaviors among Ohio and Pennsylvania homeowners, identifying opportunities for targeted education. Together, these contributions strengthen surveillance and ecological understanding while informing exposure prevention relevant to Objective 3.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Gourdarz Molaei's&nbsp;research activities focus on the molecular epidemiology, surveillance, and public health implications of tick- and mosquito-borne pathogens, with an emphasis on vector ecology, pathogen detection, and evidence-based prevention strategies. My research included investigating Dirofilaria immitis in field-collected Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in southeastern Virginia, evaluating nanopore adaptive sampling for comprehensive pathogen surveillance and microbiome profiling in Ixodes scapularis ticks, and identifying spatiotemporal hotspots of invasive Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) infestations across the eastern United States. I also investigated barriers to public participation in passive tick surveillance programs to inform targeted outreach and strengthen community engagement. In addition, my work promoted evidence-based tick removal practices to minimize unnecessary surgical interventions and associated complications. Beyond research, I directed the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) Tick Testing Laboratory, overseeing public tick surveillance and pathogen testing. From January 1 through October 16, 2026, the laboratory received 5,544 tick submissions and tested 3,396 blacklegged ticks for five major tick-borne pathogens, with results reported within 1&ndash;2 days. I actively communicated research findings through media interviews, public presentations, academic lectures, and educational visits to the CAES. Collectively, these activities integrate molecular diagnostics, genomic technologies, spatial epidemiology, and community-based surveillance to advance understanding of vector-borne disease risks and strengthen public health preparedness.</p><br /> <p>Dr. Kris Silver's work has largely focused on Objective 3 of NE2443 (Discover, develop, and integrate interventions to manage vector-borne pathogen transmission and pesticide resistance). His lab has been examining the roles of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in insect phisiology both by disrupting suspected biogenesis pathways and observing their effects on systemic RNA interference responses and by characterizing EVs derived from cultured Culex tarsalis cells following infection with West Nile virus (WNV). EVs are important mediators of intercellular and inter-species communication and understanding their roles and components will generate new strategies for disrupting pathogen transmission and controlling insect pests. In these experiments, EVs from infected cells were able to induce infection in uninfected cells. In addition,&nbsp;they continue our experiments using electropenetrography (EPG) to understand the probing behaviors of Culicoides biting midges. In the past year we have been measuring gene expression in relation to the oberved waveforms producded by EPG techniques, which has revealed significant changes in gene expression during different phases of probing.</p>

Grants, Contracts & Other Resources Obtained

None to report.

Publications

<ol><br /> <li>Abdi, A. A., J. G. Juarez, T. Harris, T. Magalhaes, Hamer, G. L. 2026. Systematic review of Aedes aegypti control trials suggests publication bias related to author disclosure of conflicts of interest. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 20(1): e0013914. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013914">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013914</a>.</li><br /> <li>Abdi, A.A., R. Almeida, T. Harris, T. Magalhaes, J.G. Juarez, and G.L Hamer. In press. Forgotten in the tropics: research on Culex mosquitoes is overshadowed in malaria and dengue‑endemic regions. Parasites &amp; Vectors. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-026-07309-0Scavo, N, G Hamer. 2026. Simulated adult control on laboratory larval mesocosms demonstrates overcompensation in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Vector Ecology, 51(1), 22-26.</li><br /> <li>Abdi AA, Balasubramanian S, Juarez JG, Scavo NA, Fernandez-Santos NA, Tian Y, Hamer SA, Pennington P, Padilla N, Hamer GL. 2026. Bloodmeal metabarcoding reveals host feeding patterns for Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus in Jutiapa, Guatemala and Texas, USA. Scientific Reports. May 22. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-49270-z.</li><br /> <li>Adams, D.R., Lawhorn, K., Yackley, A.N., Lewandowski, K.S., Burford Reiskind, M.O., Barbarin, A.M. and Reiskind, M.H., 2026. It takes a village: Community science informs tick encounter, pathogen, and exposure risk in North Carolina, USA. PloS one, 21(7), p.e0352204.</li><br /> <li>Ajibefun, FK, M Milosevic, X Zhang, AM V&eacute;lez, <strong>K Silver</strong>. 2026. Exosome biogenesis in arthropods: conserved mechanisms, experimental evidence, and emerging directions. <em>Annals of the Entomological Society of America</em>. saag019. DOI:10.1093/aesa/saag019.</li><br /> <li>Bache EG, Matzkin P, Fleming J, Pesapane R, Tufts DM. 2026. Using participatory epidemiology to understand differences in tick-borne disease perceptions from homeowners in the Ohio River valley. One Health. 22:101309. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101309">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101309</a></li><br /> <li>Bae JS, Telmadarrehei T, Seok S, Soto Jim&eacute;nez L, Gonz&aacute;lez AM, Quintanilla LF, Nguyen VT, Young R, Gellner R, Reeves LE, Medina J. Brown G, Lee Y. New distribution records of Aedes aegypti, Aedes mediovittatus, and Toxorhynchites portoricensis (Diptera: Culicidae) in Puerto Rico and their relevance to Integrated Vector Management. J Med Entomol. 63(2):tjag048 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag048Lee">https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag048</a></li><br /> <li>Bai N, Eleftheriou A, Pesapane R. 2026. Pathogen and host associations of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in eastern Ohio 10 years post establishment. Journal of Medical Entomology. 63(1):tjaf169. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaf169">https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaf169</a></li><br /> <li>Bai N, Pesapane R. 2026. A standardized visual method for rapid assessment of engorgement in host-derived ticks. Parasitology Research. Published online September 9, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-026-08762-7">https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-026-08762-7</a></li><br /> <li>Bai N, Sabet A, Williams A, Pesapane R. 2026. Seasonal flooding and environmental variation decrease blacklegged tick (Acari: Ixodidae; Ixodes scapularis) survival in a wetland ecosystem. Journal of Medical Entomology. 63(3):tjag103. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag103">https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag103</a></li><br /> <li>Balasubramanian S, Zecca IB, Koger A, Hamer SA. Rickettsia typhi, Bartonella henselae and related zoonotic agents in fleas from domestic cats (Felis catus) from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Parasites &amp; Vectors, 2026; 19:281.</li><br /> <li>Baltzegar, J.F., Butler, C.D., Ding, J.Y., Beeson, C.M., Reed, E.M.X., Reiskind, M.H. and Burford Reiskind, M.O., 2026. Emergence and spatial distribution of knockdown resistance in a suburban population of Aedes albopictus. Parasites &amp; Vectors.&nbsp;<strong>19:</strong>&nbsp;409 (2026). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-026-07519-6">https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-026-07519-6</a></li><br /> <li>Behmer Porter E, Pesapane R. In press. Edge ecology of an emerging vector: Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum) distribution in a recreational landscape. Journal of Vector Ecology. Accepted July 9, 2026. In Press.</li><br /> <li>Bickerton, M, J Gonz&aacute;lez, A Toledo. 2026. Insights on the phenology of the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) using stored lipids. Insect Science 33: 396-406. doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.70009</li><br /> <li>Bourgikos E, Dellicour S, Lemey P, Feriancek NM, Bransfield AB, Breban MI, Misencik MJ, Petruff TA, Shepard JJ, Andreadis TG, Anderson JF, Ngo KA, Maffei JG, Dupuis AP, Rich SM, Xu G, Sakolsky G, Price KJ, Metzger ML, Suchard MA, Lopes R, G&aacute;mbaro F, Carlson CJ, Baele G, Ciota AT, Vogels CBF, Hill V, Armstrong PM, Grubaugh ND. Evolutionary history of Jamestown Canyon virus reveals complex multi-vector ecology. Curr Biol. 2026; 36(9):2343-2356.e7.</li><br /> <li>Brandt, PJ*, Noden, BH, Soares, R*, Hoback WW. 2026. Influence of fire frequency and vegetation encroachment on abundance of ticks in eastern Oklahoma glades. Southwestern Entomologist. 51(1): 217-230.</li><br /> <li>Brisco KK, Wheeler SS, Cornel AJ, Elkashef S, Ramos S, Mulligan III FS, Lee Y, Kelley K, Dritz D, Holeman J, Goodman G. Evaluation of ultra-low volume mosquito control sentinel cage field trial methods: assessing cage design, cage deployment methods, and post-application mosquito handling. J Am Mosq Cont Assoc. *** In Press ***</li><br /> <li>Brown, J. E., M. A. Linske, A. J. DeNicola, V. L. DeNicola, J. R. Boulanger, C. Tamez, and S. C. Williams. 2026. Oral delivery of the systemic acaricide moxidectin to a confined Odocoileus virginianus herd parasitized by Ixodes scapularis. Journal of Medical Entomology 63(1):tjag022. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag022">https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag022</a></li><br /> <li>Brown, J E., C. Stickler, and E. T. Machtinger. You Scratch My Back: White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) Sibling Pairs Engage in Allogrooming in Response to Tick Burdens. Journal of Zoology 1-7. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.70150">https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.70150</a></li><br /> <li>Butler, C.D., Ding, J.Y., Baltzegar, J., Brown, Z.S., Burford Reiskind, M.O. and Reiskind, M.H., 2026. Socioeconomic predictors of knockdown resistance in the globally invasive tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus. Royal Society Open Science, 13(7), p.251678.</li><br /> <li>Campos M, Lee Y, Brisco K, Crepeau M, Cornel AJ, Lanzaro GC. Genetics of range expansion and admixture of Aedes aegypti populations in California. BMC Genomics. 2025 Dec 19. 26(1):1135. doi: 10.1186/s12864-025-12443-7. PMCID: PMC12752053.</li><br /> <li>Debebe Y, Isoe J, Ochwedo K et al. Limitation of pantothenate bioavailability in Anopheles stephensi by second-generation pantazines enhances restriction of Plasmodium development. Sci Rep 16, 27933 (2026). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-68982-w">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-68982-w</a></li><br /> <li>Dezse, C.M., El-Dougdoug, N.K., Short, S.M., 2026. Addition of a single bacterial isolate to conventional larval rearing water can impact wing size and longevity in adult male Aedes aegypti. PLOS ONE 21, e0350944. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0350944">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0350944</a></li><br /> <li>Dill, GM, TF Rounsville, Jr., AM Bryant, and AM Gardner. 2025. Patterns of demographic and behavioral factors associated with tick encounters in Maine using passive surveillance data. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases 16: e102573.</li><br /> <li>Ding, J.Y., Reed, E.M., Reiskind, M.H. and Burford Reiskind, M.O., 2026. Fine‐Scale Landscape Genomics Show Asymmetric Patterns of Gene Flow for the Invasive Mosquito Aedes albopictus. Ecology and Evolution, 16(9), p.e74082.</li><br /> <li>Dobson ME, Kaylor HL, Pruett SL, Brady J, Savoie-Penton K, Isoe J, Debebe Y, Riehle MA, Luckhart S. Pantothenate regulates feeding and reproduction in the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi, with patterns dependent on supplementation scheme and parental nutrition. Parasit Vectors. 2025 Aug 4;18(1):334. doi: 10.1186/s13071-025-06959-w. PMID: 40760026; PMCID: PMC12323043.</li><br /> <li>Dunford JC, Vigil SL, Ruder MG, Long L, Zapata S, Price DC, Steele CH, McDermott EG, McGregor BL, Holcomb K, Rose D, Newman BC, Pecor DB, Linton YM, Roberts D, Harwood JF, Connelly CR. A review and update of the distribution, bionomics, and medical importance of Culicoides (Haematomyidium) paraensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the United States in response to recent Oropouche virus expansion in the Americas. J Med Entomol. 2026 Jan 20;63(1):tjag019. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjag019. PMID: 41760083.</li><br /> <li>El-Dougdoug, N.K., Magistrado, D., Perry, K.I., Short, S.M., 2026. The microbiota impacts life history traits and mating success in male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. bioRxiv 2026.03.09.710597. <a href="https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.09.710597">https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.09.710597</a></li><br /> <li>Eleftheriou A, Price KJ, Jennings J, Wang S, Fleming J, Pesapane R. 2026. Medical and veterinary pathogens detected in invading Asian longhorned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis) from Ohio and Pennsylvania. American Journal of Veterinary Research. 87(3):ajvr.25.10.0357. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.25.10.0357">https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.25.10.0357</a></li><br /> <li>Faw LR, Armstrong PM, Paulson SL, Eastwood G. Contrasting La Crosse Virus Lineage III Vector Competency in Two Geographical Populations of Aedes triseriatus and Aedes albopictus Mosquitoes. Biology. 2025;14(12):1771.</li><br /> <li>Feliciano, P. N.; Piermarini, P. M., Impact of Pyrethroid Resistance on the Intrinsic Insecticidal Activities of Geraniol Against the Yellow Fever Mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Insects 2026, 17 (4), 385.</li><br /> <li>Fyie, L.R., Meuti, M.E., Sivakoff, F., Fiorta, M.A. and Gardiner, M.M., 2026. Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a stronger inhibitor of overwintering dormancy than urban warming in mosquitoes. Journal of Applied Ecology, 63(5), p.e70407.</li><br /> <li>Guzman-Valencia S, Cassens J, Saelao P, Leal A, Lohstroh E, Harvey C, Leal-Galvan B, Chambers C, Wright C, Orsborn S, Tietjen M, Johnson T, Mehta NA, Golding MC, Medina RF, Tufts DM, Faulk C, Oliver JD, Oliva Chavez AS. Contrasting epigenetics of Ixodes scapularis populations. Sci Rep. 2026 May 6;16(1):20732. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-51703-8. PMID: 42092101; PMCID: PMC13333938.</li><br /> <li>Herzog, K.S, Pella, Z. Smith, H., McCormick, D., Nuss, L., Brinkworth, A., Chaudhari, S., Duncan, K., Sundstrom, K., Pietri, J.E., Smith, R.C., Hamik, J., Cortinas, R., Fauver, J.R. (2026) When clades collide: Genomic admixture in black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) from the Great Plains. Molecular Ecology 35:e770577</li><br /> <li>Hojgaard, A., A. T. Grimaudo, L. M. Osikowicz, S. E. Maes, J. Clark, S. C. Williams, M. A. Linske, L. M. Eisen, and R. J. Eisen. 2026. Evaluation of a modified Next Generation Sequencing assay to detect Borrelia, Anaplasma, and Babesia in blood and tissue samples from field-collected rodents. Journal of Medical Entomology 63(4): tjag117. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag117">https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag117</a></li><br /> <li>Hurd, SN, ES Ballman, JE Leahy, ML Schierer, and AM Gardner. 2025. Effects of active forest management on host-seeking tick density and infection prevalence: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 292: e20250851.</li><br /> <li>Ibemgbo, S., S. Compton, M. I. Breban, S. Redmond, N. D. Grubaugh, M. Linske, S. Williams, K. Zyskowski, G. Watkins-Colwell, J. Lewis, M. Syracuse, G. Risatti, W. D. Tanner, and C. Zeiss. 2026. The coronaviral landscape across diverse mammalian species in the northeastern United States. Scientific Reports: 16 (2942). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-32849-3">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-32849-3</a></li><br /> <li>Jeyasingh PD, Scott J, Noden BH. 2026. Elemental reorganization after exposure to extreme resource pulses: material implications of a blood meal in ticks. Physiological Entomology. In Press.</li><br /> <li>Jones SM, Morales Miranda A, Bei Y, Oko-Ose O, Khalil N, Wang J, Molaei G*. Understanding the barriers to engagement in a passive tick surveillance program to inform public health strategies in Connecticut. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2026;17(3):102655. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2026.102655.</li><br /> <li>Juhasz N, Manoj A, Bertonem MA, Hamer SA, Curtis-Robles R, Killets KC, Breivogel CS, Brenseke B. 2026. A century of passive surveillance reveals widespread triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) across North Carolina, including detection of the Chagas disease parasite. J Med Entomol 63(2), tjag024.</li><br /> <li>Karisa J, Mohapatra AR, Sandland L, Abadam C, Akaratovic K, Kiser J, Molaei G*. Molecular surveillance of Dirofilaria immitis in field-collected Aedes albopictus from southeastern Virginia. Pathogens 2026;15(9):906. doi: 10.3390/pathogens15090906.</li><br /> <li>Killets KC, Perez-Rasc&oacute;n KM, Juarez JG, Hamer GL, Hamer SA. 2025. Survival of Trypanosoma cruzi in dead Triatoma gerstaeckeri under laboratory conditions. Am J Trop Med Hyg 113(6):1213&ndash;1216.</li><br /> <li>Lee, T.; Liu, J.; Park, Y.; Rakotondraibe, H. L.; Cheng, X.; Piermarini, P. M., Activation of mosquito and human transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channels by the natural drimane sesquiterpene cinnamodial. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 2026, 220, 107110.</li><br /> <li>Lee, Y, Akbari OS. (2026). Editorial Overview &ndash; Insect Genomics (2026): enhancing public health, food security, and biodiversity through genetic biocontrol. Curr Opin Insect Sci. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2026.101518">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2026.101518</a></li><br /> <li>Lee, C.H., Hall, D.R., Smith, R.C. (2026) Continued range expansion of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Iowa, United States. Journal of Medical Entomology 63(2), tjag052.</li><br /> <li>Lewandowski, K., Hopkins, S.R. and Reiskind, M.H., 2026. The influence of larval temperature and nutrients on dog heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis (Spirurida: Onchocercidae)) transmission in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Aedes triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 63(4), p.tjag129.</li><br /> <li>Lysaker, D. T., E. D. Struckhoff, I. Chakravarti, O. J. Bognanni, E. T. Machtinger. Development of the Vector Education, Communication, and Training Online Resource (VECTOR) Library: A Vector-Borne Disease Education Database. BMC Public Health 26(1). <a href="http://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-27045-5">http://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-27045-5</a></li><br /> <li>Machtinger, E. T. D. T. Lysaker, I. Chakravarti, O.J. Bognanni, E. D. Struckhoff. The Vector Education, Communication, and Training Online Resource (VECTOR) Library: A Comprehensive Analysis of Vector and Vector-Borne Disease Educational Materials Across U.S. Cooperative Extension. Journal of Extension. Accepted.</li><br /> <li>Magaletta OR, Flores IS, Lee Y, Thongsripong P, Allen B, Giordano BV, Killingsworth DF, Gray EW, Riegel C, Riles MT, Campbell LP. Evaluation of educational outcomes delivered by the BEACONS Invasive Mosquito Workshops. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 2026 Jul 13:e25-7277. doi: 10.2987/25-7277.</li><br /> <li>Magistrado, D., Short, S.M., 2026. The Adult Aedes aegypti Bacterial Microbiota is Robust to Infection with the Obligate Microsporidian Parasite Edhazardia aedis. Environmental Microbiology 28, e70437.</li><br /> <li>Maire, T.; Thongsripong, P. Effectiveness, Safety, and Use of Permethrin-Treated Clothing to Prevent Mosquito Bites: IN1467/ENY-2135, EDIS 2026; 2, doi:10.32473/EDIS-IN1467-2026.</li><br /> <li>Maire, T.; Futo, M.; Tran, M.; Snowden, S.; Kosinski, K.; Jiang, Y.; Lord, C.C.; Thongsripong, P. How Often, When, and Where Do People Get Bitten by Mosquitoes? Characterizing Human&ndash;Mosquito Contact Using Bite Diary. Parasites Vectors 2026, doi:10.1186/s13071-026-07698-2.</li><br /> <li>Mart&iacute;nez Rodr&iacute;guez, E. J.; Phelan, P. L.; Canas, L.; Acosta, N.; Feliciano, P. N.; Tubbs, J.; Loperena, E.; Rakotondraibe, H. L.; Piermarini, P. M., Toxic and repellent effects of hemp leaf extracts and cannabidiol against adult female yellow fever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti. PLOS ONE 2026, 21 (9), e0354696.</li><br /> <li>M&eacute;ndez-Cardona, S.; Rockwell, M.; McGuire, Z.; Decker, E.G.; Thongsripong, P. A MODIFIED COMMERCIAL UV-LED TRAP FOR MOSQUITO SURVEILLANCE IN COASTAL FLORIDA. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 2026, e26-7293, doi:10.2987/26-7293.</li><br /> <li>M&eacute;ndez-Cardona, S.; Rockwell, M.N.; Futo, M.; Colee, J.C.; Thongsripong, P.; Reeves, L.; Caragata, E.P.; Kim, D.; Alto, B.W.; Burkett-Cadena, N.D. Field Video Recording Paired with Trapping Reveals Mosquito Diel Sugar-Feeding Patterns. Journal of Medical Entomology 2026, 63, tjag118, doi:10.1093/jme/tjag118.</li><br /> <li>Meuti, M.E., 2026. Environmental factors that regulate mosquito physiology and behavior. Annual review of entomology, 71.</li><br /> <li>Molaei G*, Sandland L, Nicholson WL, Paddock CD. Revisiting tick removal Practices: Avoiding routine skin biopsy. Journal of American Academy of Dermatology 2026; xxx. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2026.09.095</li><br /> <li>Nguyen VT, Ali RLMN, Burini BC, Dryden DS, Riddin MA, Saili K, Simulundu E, Reeves LE, Norries DE, Lee Y. A new assay for molecular identification of Anopheles squamosus (Diptera: Culicidae) using internal transcribed spacer 2. Malaria J. 2025 Oct 16. 24:345. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-025-05600-6">https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-025-05600-6</a></li><br /> <li>Palli, K. K.; Lee, T.; Cheng, X.; Piermarini, P. M.; Rakotondraibe, H. L., Further development of cinnamodial analogues as mosquito (Aedes aegypti) toxicants for vector control. Bioorganic &amp; Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2026, 130661.</li><br /> <li>Park, Y.; Piermarini, P. M., Heat activation desensitizes Aedes aegypti transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (AaTRPA1) to chemical agonists that repel mosquitoes. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 2025, 209, 106326.</li><br /> <li>Pesapane R, Shrock K, Bryant C, Rosendale AJ. 2026. Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) and Rickettsia parkeri, Ohio, USA, 2020. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 32(9):1521&ndash;1522. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3209.260632">https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3209.260632</a></li><br /> <li>Peterson JK, Kelley AR, Antoszewski T, Brown M, Cortes H, Easton PI, Ferry G, Freeman T, Freiwald C, Hagen E, Kinnaird H, Lewin L, Lewis M, McNulty J, Moore N, Mullis E, Pettit S, Schultz L, Sharp S, Stocker W, Tunstall J, de Oliveira J. Live triatomine bug, vector of Trypanosoma cruzi , found engorged in Lisbon hotel room: A first for Portugal and for Europe. Parasit Vectors. 19:250. doi: 10.1186/s13071-026-07464-4. PMID: 42289717; PMCID: PMC13273934.</li><br /> <li>Poch&eacute;, D., S. C. Williams, M. A. Linske, and R. Poch&eacute;. 2026. Efficacy of a low-dose fipronil bait in controlling blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) larvae parasitizing white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) under field conditions in the northeastern United States. Parasites &amp; Vectors; online ahead of print. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-026-07676-8">https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-026-07676-8</a></li><br /> <li>Price DC, Bezhani FL, Meng Z, Porfirio-LaStrapes M, Wagner NE, Javanmard M, Han T, Barnes MM. Metaviromic profiling of mosquito excreta using superhydrophobic collection devices expands the known RNA virome of North America. Microbiol Spectr. 2026 Sep;14(9):e0093826. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.00938-26. Epub 2026 Jul 28. PMID: 42517626; PMCID: PMC13532237.</li><br /> <li>Reed HC, Henriquez BE*, Noden BH. In Press. Mosquito community composition, diversity, and seasonal dynamics using Gravid Aedes Traps in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Journal of Vector Ecology.</li><br /> <li>Rothman, S. E., LaDeau, S. L., &amp; Leisnham, P. T. (2026). Urban socioeconomic, vegetation, and mosquito interactions in the United States: Current research and future directions. Ecosphere, 17, e70563. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70563">https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70563</a></li><br /> <li>Rothman, S. E., LaDeau, S. L., Lucas, J., &amp; Leisnham, P. T. (2026). Leaf litter characteristic of low-income urban blocks improves population performance of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culex pipiens mosquitoes. Journal of Medical Entomology, 63(3). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag081">https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjag081</a></li><br /> <li>Rubino F, Hamer SA, Lopez-Perez A, Schuchman S, Fuller L, Lozano K, Saffold A, Rodriguez-Perez MA, Fernandez-Santos NA, Foley J. 2026. Simultaneous serological assessment of four zoonotic rickettsiae among dogs near the United States-Mexico border. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 20(3): e0014099.</li><br /> <li>Saarman, N., Graybeal, K., Seeley, T., Calhoun, E., Jenkins, E., Moraes, A.D.L., Faiman, R., Markle, H., Pellegrini, R., Arent, S. and Gloria-Soria, A., 2025. Range expansion of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex pipiens hybrids across mid-latitudes of North America. One Health, 21, p.101205.</li><br /> <li>Sabet A, Pesapane R, Ward SF. 2026. Effect of floor type on survival of Amblyomma maculatum and Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae). Journal of Vector Ecology. 51(1):12&ndash;21. <a href="https://doi.org/10.52707/1081-1710-50.1-12">https://doi.org/10.52707/1081-1710-50.1-12</a></li><br /> <li>Schappach, BL, BA Lieberthal, and AM Gardner. 2026. Interacting effects of mean temperature and temperature variability on Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) overwinter survival and energy use. Journal of Medical Entomology 63: etjag001.</li><br /> <li>Seok S, Salama L, Vorsino AE, Leong MKH, Haines WP, Jacobsen CM, Akbari OS, Caragara EP, Lee Y. Native Wolbachia infection dynamics across Hawaiian Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) populations. Parasit Vectors. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-026-07695-5">https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-026-07695-5</a></li><br /> <li>Seok S, Shin J, Bang WJ, Mogi M, Lee Y. Global niche dynamics of two invasive Aedes mosquitoes, Aedes japonicus and Aedes koreicus (Diptera: Culicidae), using comprehensive native and non-native occurrence data. Parasit Vectors. 2026 Aug 3. 19:439. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-026-07596-7">https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-026-07596-7</a></li><br /> <li>Seok S, McCollum MT, Jacobsen CM, Akbari OS, Mathias DK, Lee Y. Pyrethroid insecticide resistance of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) across the Hawaiian Islands. Parasit Vectors. 2025 Dec 5;19(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s13071-025-07176-1. PMCID: PMC12797669</li><br /> <li>Shockling Dent CE, Henning J, Bai N, Koser T, Wilson S, Chu Y, Pesapane R. 2026. Shelter dogs harbor diverse tick species and demonstrate high exposure to tick-borne pathogens in a zone of tick range expansion. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Published online October 14, 2026:1&ndash;9. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.26.06.0477">https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.26.06.0477</a></li><br /> <li>Siderhurst, Matthew S., Anika L. Hurst, Pei-Shih Liang, Nicholas C. Manoukis, and Jennifer K. Peterson. &ldquo;Employing Tiny Harmonic Radar Tags to Study Mosquito Movement in Natural Environments.&rdquo; PNAS Nexus 5, no. 3 (2026): pgag039. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag039">https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag039</a>.</li><br /> <li>Suepaul, Rod, Azad Mohammed, Nicole L. Gottdenker, et al. &ldquo;First Report of Canine Chagas Disease on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad.&rdquo; Memorias Do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 120 (2025).</li><br /> <li>Thongsripong, P.; Casas, S.A. Effects of Temperature on Biting Persistence of Aedes Aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 2026, 63, tjaf196, doi:10.1093/jme/tjaf196.</li><br /> <li>Tian Y, Fern&aacute;ndez-Santos NA, Juarez JG, Esquivel H, Moller-Vasquez AM, Granados-Presa M, Echeverria A, Pennington P, Zamora-Jerez A, Fimbres-Macias JP, Roachell W, Lenhart PA, Casey T, Keck ME, Hodo CL, Downs CH, Sittenauer SC, Nevins CC, Balasubramanian S, Angulo C, Palacios-Cardiel C, Gaxiola-Robles R, Zenteno-Sav&iacute;n T, Hamer SA, Borden JH, Banfield MG, Padilla N, Hamer GL. 2026. Advancing the design of the kissing bug kill trap for surveillance of triatomines. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2026 Feb 27;20(2):e0014005. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0014005.</li><br /> <li>Tufa, F, J Ravenhurst, ES Ballman, NP Connally, N Couret, N Fernandez, AM Gardner, JR Garnas, W Landesman, AL White, G Xu, SM Rich, AA Lover, and TN Mather. 2026. Project ITCH: Cross-sectional surveys to understand residential vector control attitudes and practices across New England. BMJ Public Health 4: e003656.</li><br /> <li>Vandegriff, C.W., Ryoo, J.S., Carrasquilla, M.C. <em>et al.</em> County-level surveillance for the American dog tick (<em>Dermacentor variabilis</em>) and <em>Rickettsia</em> species in Kentucky. <em>Sci Rep</em> <strong>16</strong>, 7404 (2026). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37422-0">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37422-0</a></li><br /> <li>Wang X, Bozic J, Tarimo BB, Stenn TMS, McCollum MT, Carrillo J, Buckner EA, Nyasembe VO, Ngasala B, Dinglasan RR, Collier TC, Caragata EP, Lee Y&dagger;, Mathias DK&dagger;. Genetic divergence in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes potentially associated with enhanced capacity for arbovirus transmission. BMC Biol. 2026 Jul 8;24(1):152. doi: 10.1186/s12915-026-02592-w. PMCID: PMC13343669.</li><br /> <li>Wheeler CA, Joiner JM, Branca AS, Tian Y, Hamer GL, Hamer SA, Marshall DS, Owen JP, Downs CH, Nutzhorn A, Banfield MG, Borden JH. 2026. Traps baited with dry ice outperform cloth drags for capturing ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in 3 widely separated geographic regions. J Med Entomol. Jan 20;63(1):tjaf183. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaf183.</li><br /> </ol><br /> <p><strong>Extension publications</strong></p><br /> <ol><br /> <li>Bae JS, Lee Y, Seok S. Korean bush mosquito, Aedes koreicus (Edwards, 1917) (Insecta: Diptera: Culicidae: Culicinae). askIFAS Featured Creatures Series. *** Accepted ***</li><br /> <li>Minnesota tick project website. z.umn.edu/mnticks</li><br /> <li>Nguyen VT, Magaletta OR, Lee Y. Anopheles Squamosus (Theobald, 1901) (Insecta: Diptera: Culicidae: Culicinae): EENY-823 IN1465, 1 2026. askIFAS Featured Creatures Collection. 2026(1): <a href="https://doi.org/10.32473/EDIS-IN1465-2026">https://doi.org/10.32473/EDIS-IN1465-2026</a></li><br /> <li>Riles MT, Giordano BV, Romero-Weaver AL, Seok S, Bae JS, Nguyen VT, Flores IS, Reeves, LE, Lee Y. Invasive Mosquito Watch - Aedes vittatus. Gulf South VECTOR Newsletter. March 3, 2026. <a href="https://vectoroutreach.org/spotlight/invasive-mosquito-aedes-vittatus/">https://vectoroutreach.org/spotlight/invasive-mosquito-aedes-vittatus/</a></li><br /> </ol><br /> <p><strong>Presentations</strong></p><br /> <ol><br /> <li>Ajibefun, FK, M Milosevic, X Zhang, AM V&eacute;lez, <strong>KS Silver</strong>. Unraveling extracellular vesicle biogenesis in <em>Diabrotica undecimpunctata</em> Tiny Couriers, Big Impact: How Extracellular Vesicles Orchestrate Inter-Species Communication. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Portland, OR, November 9&ndash;12, 2025.Invited.</li><br /> <li>Bae JS, Seok S, Collier TC, Blosser IE, Cornel AJ, Hulshof K, Davelaar G, Leslie T, Braks M, Lee Y. [Poster] Assessment of the genetic isolation of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on the Caribbean Islands. Gordon Research Conference - Genetic Biocontrol. Newry, Maine. July 12-17, 2026. Also presented as the Oral Poster Introduction Presentation on July 15, 2026.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Bae JS, Seok S, Nguyen VT, Collier TC, Young R, Soto Jimenez L, Medina J, Lee Y. [Poster] Preliminary genome assembly of Aedes mediovittatus from Puerto Rico. Gordon Research Seminar - Genetic Biocontrol. Newry, Maine. July 12, 2026.Lee Y. Population genomics of invasive Aedes in the Pacific Islands. 2026 Hawaii Department of Health annual meeting. Hilo, HI. Apr 30, 2026.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Bae JS, Lee. Y. The distribution of Aedes aegypti in Puerto Rico &ndash; 2025 update. The 21st Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Control Workshop. St. Augustine, FL. March 4, 2026.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Bae JS, Lee Y. Mosquito BEACONS Working Group: Shining light on invasive and non-native mosquito species. Indian River Mosquito Control District Community Research Workshop. Vero Beach, FL. Oct 15, 2025. Invited.</li><br /> <li>Lee Y. Population genomics of Aedes aegypti and insights for genetic biocontrol trials. Gordon Research Conference - Genetic Biocontrol. Newry, Maine. July 16, 2026.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Lee Y. Research and Extension in the Arthropod Population Ecology and Evolution Lab - 2026 update. The Entomology and Nematology Department Spring 2026 Seminar Series, Gainesville, FL. March 27, 2026.</li><br /> <li>Lee Y. What DNA shows about a dengue-transmitting invasive mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, in Florida. Indian River Mosquito Control District Community Research Workshop. Indian River County Board of Commission Chamber, Vero Beach, FL. Oct 15, 2025.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Milosevic, M, A Valencia-Jim&eacute;nez, F Ajibefun, X Zang, <strong>KS Silver</strong>, A V&eacute;lez. Extracellular vesicle-mediated RNAi spread in Western corn rootworm. Tiny Couriers, Big impact: How Extracellular Vesicles Orchestrate Inter-Species Communication. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Portland, OR, November 9&ndash;12, 2025. Invited.</li><br /> <li>Mullin M, Cadigan J, Humphry M, Seok S, Bae JS, Lee Y, Byrd B. Evaluating a modified CO2-baited CDC light trap to improve trapping effectiveness in a La Crosse virus endemic area and a coastal environment. In Traps and Attractant for Surveillance and Control of Mosquitoes Symposium. The 92nd American Mosquito Control Association Annual Meeting. Portland, OR. Mar 23-27, 2026.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Mullin M, Eargle A, Humphry M, Cadigan J, Bae J, Lee Y, Byrd B. Reducing Collection Bycatch Using a Modified CDC Light Trap.The 92nd American Mosquito Control Association Annual Meeting. Portland, OR. Mar 23-27, 2026.</li><br /> <li>Nguyen V, Lee Y. Investigating Anopheles squamosus, an understudied malaria vector in sub-Saharan Africa. The 21st Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Control Workshop. St. Augustine, FL. March 5, 2026. Invited.</li><br /> <li>Nguyen V, Lee Y. Anopheles mosquito genomic research and Mosquito BEACONS working group update. 2026 Virginia Mosquito Control Association Annual Conference. Virginia Beach, VA. Jan 28, 2026.</li><br /> <li>P&eacute;rez-Ramos DW, Bae JS, Nguyen VT, Seok S, Lee Y. [Poster] The updated distribution of Aedes aegypti in Puerto Rico and case for cemetery management for dengue prevention. Gordon Research Conference - Genetic Biocontrol. Newry, Maine. July 12-17, 2026.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Seok S, Lee Y. Niche conservatism of invasive Aedes japonicus and Aedes koreicus: implications for risk prediction and management.The 21st Arbovirus Surveillance and Mosquito Control Workshop. St. Augustine, FL. March 5, 2026.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Seok S, Lee Y. Hawai&rsquo;i Aedes albopictus population genomics project. NE2443 Multi-state Hatch Project Annual Meeting. Entomology 2025. Portland, OR. Nov 12, 2025.</li><br /> <li><strong>Silver, KS</strong>. Molecular and behavioral effects of arboviral infection in <em>Culicoides sonorensis</em> biting midges. Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University. October 16, 2025.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Young RA, Bae JS, Nguyen VT, Lee Y. Sequencing the mitogenome of the elephant mosquito, Toxorhynchites portoricensis. University of Florida Fall 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium. Gainesville, FL, Oct 16, 2025.</li><br /> <li>V&eacute;lez, A, M Milosevic, M Darlingon, A Valencia-Jim&eacute;nez, <strong>KS Silver</strong>, B Siegfried. Molecular mechanisms underlying RNAi in Western corn rootworm: From dsRNA uptake to systemic spread. 25-Year Anniversary of RNAi for Pest Management: Milestones and Prospects. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Portland, OR, November 9&ndash;12, 2025.&nbsp;Invited.</li><br /> <li>Zhang, X, D Mitzel, <strong>KS Silver</strong>. A detailed view of EV cargoes from <em>Culex tarsalis</em> cells with West Nile virus. Tiny Couriers, Big Impact: How Extracellular Vesicles Orchestrate Inter-Species Communication. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Portland, OR, November 9&ndash;12, 2025. Invited.</li><br /> </ol><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Impact Statements

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