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Chasity Trammell’s Three Minute Thesis


Biting Back: Addressing Mosquito-borne Viruses by Reducing a Mosquitoes Ability to Become Infected

Mosquito-borne pathogens pose a significant threat to global human health. With approximately 80% of the world population currently at risk of exposure, and with this trend steadily increasing because of climate change and globalization, there is an immediate need in developing more effective methods to address these pathogens at both the vector and clinical level. Because mosquito-borne transmission is the predominate cause of new cases, reducing viral infection in mosquitoes would directly reduce disease incidence. My thesis project is focused on understanding the immune responses mosquitoes initiate during viral infection and identifying potential targets to reduce a mosquito’s ability to become infected and, in turn, transmit to humans. Our lab has determined that the insulin signaling pathway plays a key role in regulating mosquito immune responses and can be readily targeted to reduce viral replication and transmission. My aim is to effectively translate our results into more viable vector control protocols to get our antiviral findings to the people most at risk.

My research is focused on understanding how infected hosts, from mosquitoes to humans, respond to viruses like West Nile virus and Zika virus and determining how these responses can be targeted to reduce transmission and disease incidence.

Outside of research, I am interested in reading, kayaking, and exploring the Palouse.