This NIH Strategic Plan for Tickborne Disease Research proposes building on current trans-NIH efforts to better understand the complex interplay among host, tick, and pathogen factors that contribute to TBDs and the body’s defenses against them.
To develop such novel anti-infectives, consider pursuing the following basic and translational research topics:
Identify additional pathogen and host proteins or enzymes that can be exploited in the development of novel degraders.
Generate, characterize, and optimize degraders that stimulate the degradation of a specific pathogen, toxin, or host target.
Develop and optimize relevant assays that allow for the assessment of the functionality of the degraders to degrade infectious targets.
Determine the substrate specificity and kinetics of degrader interactions with the pathogen or host target or to the degradative machinery components.
Determine rate limiting steps and factors that lead to the formation of a productive degradative complex to assist rational design and synthesis of effective degraders.
Discover and develop highly selective ligands with high affinity to pathogen targets and host machinery components using ligand discovery technologies and relevant animal models or assays.
Improve drug-like properties of degraders (e.g., physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetic profiles, cell permeability, solubility, oral bioavailability) through structure-activity relationship studies to improve therapeutic benefit as demonstrated in a small animal model.
Conversely, for this NOSI, you should not propose:
Approaches that utilize gene-editing or gene knock-out/knock-in level, e.g., CRISPR-Cas9, or gene knock-down, e.g., RNA interference.
Technologies that use targeted protein inactivation, which require adding an aminoacidic signal sequence (tag) to the protein of interest.
Methods that directly alter or target the genome or epigenome of the host including those due to unforeseen off-target effects.
Review the NOSI for additional details.
Application Guidance
You may submit an application through any of the following parent notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs):
Requirements such as budget restrictions, project period length, and application deadline are determined by the NOFO through which you choose to apply.
But, in any case, you must include “NOT-AI-23-076” in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF 424 R&R form.
The first available due date is January 5, 2024. The NOSI expires on July 17, 2026.
If you have any questions, contact NIAID’s Dr. Raymond Slay at slayrm@niaid.nih.gov or 301-325-8578.
Contact Us
Email us at deaweb@niaid.nih.gov for help navigating NIAID’s grant and contract policies and procedures.
The purpose of this study is to see if vorinostat is safe for people with moderate-to-severe CD and to see if it is safe for people with moderate-to-sever CD to receive maintenance therapy using Ustekinumab after successful treatment of Vorinostat.
Postbac fellow Kimberly Manalang in the ImmunoTechnology Section of the Immunology Laboratory.
Credit:NIAID
By Susannah Goodman, M.A.
Kimberly Manalang, a postbac from the ImmunoTechnology Section of the Immunology Laboratory, will represent NIAID in the 2024 NIH Three-minute Talk (TmT) Competition on June 27, 2024. Her three-minute talk titled “The Search for the Golden mAb Using Epitope Mapping” received the top score at the NIAID competition that was held virtually last month. Ten other NIAID postbac and postdoc fellows took part in the event and presented their research in short-form talks for the opportunity to compete on behalf of NIAID at the NIH event.
Each year, the NIH TmT Competition highlights fellows’ ability to synthesize complex scientific concepts into digestible insights that can be understood by a broad audience. The event also showcases the impressive breadth of research that fellows are engaged in at the NIH as intramural trainees across all training levels from different Institutes and Centers vie for top science communication honors. Participating ICs for this year’s NIH-wide competition include NICHD, NIAMS, NHGRI, NEI, NIDCD, NINDS, NIDCR, NIAMS, NCATS, NIEHS, NHLBI, NIDDK, and NIAID.
Preparation is a key component of giving a successful three-minute talk. Kimberly found the experience of preparing her talk a fun but challenging contrast to the clinical research she conducts as part of her day-to-day work. After overcoming the hurdle of deciding what topic she wanted to talk about, she also had to learn to pace herself when presenting. Kimberly notes, “I tend to speak fast and stumble over my words because of it, so this challenged me to slow down my speech!"
To walk fellows through the process of crafting a clear and concise talk with a dynamic visual accompaniment that helps the audience grasp the research, the NIAID Office of Research Training and Development hosted a seminar in April led by communication expert Scott Morgan. In addition to attending this event and reaching out to Mr. Morgan for feedback, Kimberly found two other resources particularly helpful when preparing for the NIAID TmT event. She turned to her mentor, Danielle Wagner, Ph.D., for guidance and assistance in refining her talk. “We were so committed that we edited the talk on the plane ride back from a conference!” muses Kimberly. She also utilized Bio Render, an online tool that helps users create stunning, high-quality science figures, when designing a slide to illustrate her message’s key points.
When reflecting on her overall experience, Kimberly considers it an honor to have been awarded 1st place among so many outstanding talks, especially “as someone who wishes to bring accessible science to the general public” in her future career in medicine.
For any fellows interested in competing in next year’s competition, Kimberly recommends simplifying your approach when presenting your research. Her suggestion is to “have fun and think of it as if you are trying to explain your project to a high school or early college version of yourself.”
The NIAID Office of Research Training and Development would like to thank NIAID postdoc fellows Roland Bamou, Ph.D., and Arthur Wickenhagen, Ph.D., predoc fellow Cristina Meehan, B.S., and postbac fellow Hailey Johnson, B.S., who graciously volunteered their time to serve as judges for this year’s event.
Additional information on how to effectively communicate your science or compete in future TmT events can be found on the NIAID Fellows Training SharePoint site or by emailing NIAIDTraining@nih.gov.
Congratulations and best of luck to Kimberly as she competes in the 2024 NIH Three-minute Talk Competition on June 27, 2024!
Maternal mortality rates continue to increase in the U.S., outpacing rates of other developed countries. In 2021, 1,025 women in the U.S. died due to pregnancy or childbirth-related causes, compared to 861 women in 2020 and 754 in 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common causes contributing to pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. include infection, sepsis, cardiovascular conditions, hypertensive disorders, and hemorrhage. In July, NIAID hosted a workshop of technology developers, immunologists, maternal health researchers and clinicians to explore the importance and challenges of measuring, predicting and improving reproductive health in the context of maternal and fetal immune systems.
Specifically, the workshop focused on leveraging immune metrics to improve diagnosis and care of pregnant individuals. Attendees discussed the role of immune metrics and function during healthy pregnancy compared to adverse pregnancy outcomes, identified technology gaps, and provided insight into strategies for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. Specific topics of interest included: enhancing existing laboratory and animal models of pregnancy, identifying optimal timing and dosage of vaccination during pregnancy, obtaining minimally invasive samples to explore biomarkers, and defining clinical consensus on preterm birth and labor.
Discussions at the workshop identified multiple areas in which the field of maternal-fetal immunity can continue to advance. One specific identified area of concern was the use of many different animal models across the field that make it difficult to interpret results across studies. Furthermore, findings from animal models are often not translatable to human-relevant outcomes. Harmonization of animal models, as well as availability of improved models of human disease, will better support translational research, the attendees concluded. Additionally, workshop attendees identified a need for more thorough exploration of infection and vaccination during pregnancy to improve vaccination implementation. Existing protocols for vaccination during pregnancy are not backed by substantial evidence, and it is crucial to understand both the necessary dosage of vaccines and the most effective timing of vaccine administration for optimal immune responses for both the mother and fetus. Another point of significant discussion focused on the need to define the biological and molecular processes that lead to preterm birth and preterm labor. It is believed consensus on a biomolecular definition will improve identification and prevention of adverse outcomes.
Attendees acknowledged that identification of biomarkers during pregnancy to detect infection or other complications quickly and accurately is critical to reverse the upward trends in U.S. maternal mortality. Biomarkers that were originally used for screening fetal chromosomal abnormalities have now been found to be helpful for early detection of certain cancers in pregnant individuals is a poignant example. In conjunction with the need for more extensive biomarker research, there is also a need for improving the range of information gleaned from less invasive patient samples, such as peripheral blood and urine.
The workshop also highlighted the necessity of a multidisciplinary collaborative approach to markedly advance the field. Overall, further integration of technology and multiple perspectives across research disciplines to break down research silos was a primary theme across the workshop. Indeed, the incorporation of social sciences exploring inequity and social determinants of health is vital to this field. Access and ability to obtain prenatal care remains a barrier for many to minimize adverse pregnancy outcomes. Research is needed to understand existing inequities and public health action is needed to address these disparities.
In conjunction with the workshop, NIAID and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health issued a funding opportunity to support research on immune mechanisms at the maternal-fetal interface. Competitive applications are expected to focus on one or more of the following goals: 1) improving the understanding of the roles and interactions of immune cells at the maternal-fetal interface that support pregnancy and enable optimal placental development and function; or 2) elucidating the mechanisms by which infection and/or vaccination during gestation modulate immune responses in the pregnant individual and alter systemic or tissue-specific immunity in the offspring. This funding opportunity will support projects aimed at addressing many of the ongoing concerns in the field of maternal-fetal immunity identified in the workshop.
GSCID/BRC Project and Sample Application Standard Core Sample v1.4 Finalized by the GSCID/BRC Metadata Working Group How to interpret the document: BOLD: Field Name ITALICS: Attributes of the field 1. Specimen Source ID Core Sample Field ID: CS1 Field Name: Specimen Source ID Description: Unique identifier of the individual organism from which the initial specimen was obtained. All specimens
As part of the “Stepping into Science” experience, students from Hamilton and Corvallis high schools tried on positive-pressure research suits in the BSL-4 training room at NIAID’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories.
Credit:NIAID
‘Stepping into Science’ Highlights Variety of Scientific Careers
NIAID’s RML Campus Hosts Day-Long High School Program
Introducing local students to biomedical science and research has long been a feature of outreach programs at NIAID’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana. However, realizing that traditional laboratory science—aka “bench research”—isn’t for everyone, RML staff recently invited two dozen area high school students to experience not only traditional research but also the lesser-known careers that make bench research possible.
Where bench science can be slow and methodical—scientists may spend their entire career investigating the same problem—jobs that support bench research often vary greatly from project to project. Both types of careers are rewarding and exciting—but appeal to different types of people.
“Stepping into Science,” held this spring at the RML campus, was the idea of Kamryn Cregger, who began postbaccalaureate research work at RML in August 2023. Cregger says she quickly realized that RML had amazing resources to benefit area students, and she hoped to provide them with a similar type of opportunity that she experienced as a high schooler in rural Maryland. Cregger enrolled in a biomedical leadership program that led to a pharmaceutical internship, two years of lab training, and ultimately a bachelor’s degree in plant sciences from the University of Tennessee.
Now working on tickborne disease projects at RML—and helping local middle-school students through RML’s Biomedical Research After School Scholars program—Cregger wanted to find a way to connect with college-bound high schoolers.
“With all of the scientists and staff members on site, why not show the local students what kinds of jobs there are in science in addition to bench work?” she thought. Making those types of connections also could establish the RML group as long-term mentors for students applying for college, internships, or career positions.
After a few months of planning meetings, coordinating with RML volunteers, and finding out what most appealed to students and faculty from Hamilton and Corvallis high schools—the groups arrived for the whirlwind day of activities at RML.
“Throughout the day,” Cregger said, “students asked questions about careers, RML research, medical school application processes, the differences in academic versus government research and even vaccine development!” Students received a campus tour, overview of the types of research done in the different laboratory groups and rotated through three hands-on demonstrations by virologists, animal care staff and microscopists.
A team of RML virologists worked together to demonstrate biosafety knowledge, proper laboratory skills, such as pipetting, working in a biosafety cabinet, and dressing in personal protective equipment (PPE). They even designed a way for students to participate in a fun research-based game.
The three microscopists—Forrest Hoyt, Sophia Antonioli-Schmit and Bryan Hansen—all discussed their remarkable journeys from local high schools to RML.
In the animal care segment, “We taught them about animal husbandry, histology technicians, biologists and veterinarians,” veterinary pathologist Carl Shaia said. “Someone in each of those positions described their duties, education and how they came to RML. We also briefly touched on pay, the importance of benefits and the impact of student debt for higher education.”
RML biologist Tara Wehrly’s daughter participated in the events. Wehrly said she appreciated how the activities gave her daughter a greater understanding of the work she does.
“My daughter knows I work here, and I talk about scientific matters, but until she was on campus, it was more of an abstract concept,” Wehrly said. “I feel that Kamryn (Cregger) found the right people to give enthusiastic, informative presentations communicating the fun parts of their jobs to this group of teenagers. The discussions the kids had with post-bacs and post-docs gave them information about potential career paths that they might not have considered prior to this.”
Cregger and other event organizers already are discussing where to take the idea next, starting off with hopes of continuing the program for years to come. RML would like to inspire generations of science-loving people “and is honored to help guide the students down whatever path they choose,” according to Cregger.
Proposals are due by November 14, 2023, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
NIH’s Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) program will host an HHS SBIR Contracts Solicitation (PHS-2024-1) Webinar to discuss the opportunities on September 27, at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
Phase I—research to determine the scientific or technical feasibility and commercial merit of the proposed research or research and development (R&D) efforts.
Phase II—continuance of Phase I research efforts, dependent on successful Phase I results as well as scientific and technical merit and commercial potential of further work.
Fast Track—simultaneous submission of Phase I and Phase II proposals, to facilitate a streamlined transition from Phase I to Phase II if merited by research outcomes.
Direct-to-Phase II—allows a small business concern to commence with Phase II research if Phase I research funded by other non-NIH funding sources is already complete.
The table below summarizes each of NIAID’s research topics of interest for contract proposals. Refer to the attachment posted within the solicitation linked above for full details, including the number of anticipated awards and descriptions of required activities and deliverables.
Topic Number and Title
Project Goal
Proposal Types
Budget (Total Costs)
124. Development of Next-Generation Devices and Materials-Based Platforms for the Administration of HIV-1 Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies (bNAb)
To develop devices or materials for administration of HIV-1 bNAb(s) and bNAb derivatives (e.g., bispecific antibodies) resulting in increased protection from infection. Devices or materials should demonstrate enhanced 1) sustained release, 2) bioavailability, or 3) protective durability of the bNAb(s) relative to standard intravenous or subcutaneous administration methods.
Phase I,
Fast Track
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 1 year
Phase II: $2 million for up to 3 years
125. Development of Long-Acting Treatments for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Cure
To develop a novel long-acting drug product as a one-dose cure for HCV. Targeted drug product should have a favorable safety profile and provide sustained virological response to enable a therapeutic effect at a drug dosing interval of at least 2 months.
Phase I,
Fast Track
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 2 years
Phase II: $1 million for up to 3 years
126. Rapid Diagnostic Assays for Self-Monitoring of Acute or Rebound HIV-1 Infection
To develop low-cost, rapid diagnostic assays needed to enable untrained individuals to test for HIV-1 infection during the earliest stages of initial infection or during loss of viral suppression in chronic treated infection, i.e., times when antibody responses are not an accurate surrogate for viral load.
Phase I,
Fast Track
Phase I: $300,000 each year for up to 2 years
Phase II: $1 million for up to 3 years
127. Multiplexed Patient Administered Diagnostics for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV
To develop, evaluate, and implement reliable, quality-assured, and cost-effective, multiplexed patient administered diagnostic testing strategies for HBV, HCV, and HIV. The device should enable qualitative or semi-quantitative detection (RNA, DNA, protein, or other biomarker) in a dual or multiplexed format, suitable for home (self-collection or self-testing) and community-based use and treatment referral.
Phase I,
Fast Track
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 1 year
Phase II: $2 million for up to 3 years
128. Adjuvant Development for Vaccines for Infectious and Immune-Mediated Diseases
To support the preclinical development and optimization of a single lead adjuvant for use in vaccines to prevent or treat human disease caused by infectious pathogens or to treat immune-mediated diseases. Adjuvants may be chemical, biological, or genetic adjuvants; novel or functionally replicate adjuvants used in licensed vaccines.
Phase I,
Fast Track,
Direct-to-Phase II
Phase I: $300,000 each year for up to 2 years
Phase II: $1 million each year—with appropriate justification—for up to 3 years
129. Reagents for Immunologic Analysis of Non-mammalian and Underrepresented Mammalian Models
To develop and validate reliable antibodies or other reagents for the identification and tracking of primary immune cells (e.g., cell surface markers and receptors) or the analysis of immune function/responses (e.g., cytokines, chemokines, intracellular signaling) in non-mammalian models or underrepresented mammalian models.
Phase I,
Fast Track,
Direct-to-Phase II
Phase I: $300,000 each year for up to 2 years
Phase II: $1.5 million—with appropriate justification—for up to 3 years
130. Adjuvant Discovery and Down-Selection for Vaccines Against Infectious and Immune-Mediated Diseases
To support screening of new adjuvant candidates for vaccines against infectious diseases, autoimmune and allergic diseases, or transplantation; characterization; and early-stage optimization; or the down-selection of adjuvants for subsequent vaccine development in side-by-side comparisons.
Phase I,
Fast Track,
Direct-to-Phase II
Phase I: $300,000 each year for up to 2 years
Phase II: $1 million each year—with appropriate justification—for up to 3 years
131. Development of Bacteriophage for Treatment of Mycobacterial Infections
To support preclinical research and development of therapeutic phage products that target mycobacteria. In particular, phage for treatment of pulmonary mycobacterial infections such as TB or clinically relevant nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections and phage in combination with antibiotics for treatment of pulmonary mycobacterial infections, including antibiotic-resistant mycobacterial infections.
Phase I,
Fast Track
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 1 year
Phase II: $1.5 million for up to 3 years
132. Novel Diagnostic Biomarker Discovery and Validation for Malaria and Select Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
To identify and characterize novel malaria or NTD diagnostic biomarkers (either parasite or host response biomolecules) in human biofluids by combining genomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and bioinformatic approaches.
Phase I,
Fast Track
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 1 year
Phase II: $1.5 million for up to 3 years
133. Development of a Serological Test for Herpes Simplex Types 1 and 2 Infections
To develop modular, rapid, and reliable sample processing technologies that can be used in combination with an established diagnostic platform for the detection of viral pathogens with pandemic potential.
Phase I,
Fast Track
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 1 year
Phase II: $1.5 million for up to 3 years
134. Alternatives to Benzathine Penicillin for Treatment of Syphilis
To support preclinical development of lead candidates for syphilis indications or repurposing of drugs to be more suitable for syphilis treatment.
Phase I,
Fast Track,
Direct-to-Phase II
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 1 year
Phase II: $1.5 million for up to 3 years
135. Software or Web Services to Automate Metadata Enrichment and Standardization for Data on Infectious and Immune-Mediated Diseases
To develop software or web services that will make it easier for researchers and data curators to create high-quality, rich metadata, by automating (part of) the process for creating and enriching metadata data. Areas of interest include clinical and immunological data, structural biology and immune epitope data, and data related to the efficacy and safety of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.
Phase I,
Fast Track,
Direct-to-Phase II
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 1 year
Phase II: $1.5 million for up to 3 years
136. Software or Web Services to Re-Represent Existing Scientific Data and Knowledge into a Knowledge Graph Format
To develop software or web services that make it easier for researchers, data curators, and others to extract, transform, and load existing scientific data, information, and knowledge from their current format into a knowledge graphs-compatible format.
Phase I,
Fast Track,
Direct-to-Phase II
Phase I: $300,000 for up to 1 year
Phase II: $1.5 million for up to 3 years
Your contract proposal should address only one topic; if you wish to pursue multiple topics, submit a separate proposal for each topic. Submit your proposal(s) through the electronic Contract Proposal Submission. Direct any technical questions about the solicitation and NIAID’s topics to Jonathan Bryan in NIAID’s Office of Acquisitions at jonathan.bryan@nih.gov or 240-669-5180.
An Aedes mosquito, similar to those studied by Dr. Patricia Scaraffia.
Credit:NIAID
Mosquitoes are considered one of the most dangerous animals on earth because of their broad distribution and the many pathogens they transmit to humans. Some of the most important human diseases in tropical and temperate regions of the planet are caused by mosquito-borne pathogens. Malaria, dengue, and filariasis, among other mosquito-borne diseases, kill or sicken millions of people worldwide every year.
Mosquito-borne pathogens are transmitted to the vertebrate host, such as a human, when the mosquito bites the host in search of blood. The proteins found in blood are essential for female mosquitoes: without it, they lack the resources to create eggs. Greater knowledge of the biological processes involved in the mosquito life cycle could lead to new or improved strategies to control mosquito populations.
Dr. Patricia Scaraffia, Associate Professor at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, has dedicated her career to understanding the metabolism of the mosquito Aedes aegypti that carries the pathogens responsible for dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever to humans.NIAID reached out to Dr. Scaraffia about her team’s research.
What got you interested in studying mosquito metabolism?
I have studied the metabolism of insects that are vectors of pathogens causing human diseases since I was a graduate student at the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, in Argentina. My Ph.D. dissertation was focused on the energy metabolism in Triatomine insects, vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas´ disease. After my dissertation, I participated as a speaker in a two-week course for PhD students entitled Biochemistry and molecular biology of insects of importance for public health. During the course, Argentinian professors encouraged me to contact the late Dr. Michael A. Wells, a leader in insect metabolism, and apply for a postdoctoral training in his lab. Soon after, I joined Dr. Wells´s lab at the University of Arizona as a research associate and opened a new line of investigation in his lab. Since then, I have never stopped working on A. aegypti mosquito metabolism. I am passionate and curious about the tremendous complexity of mosquito metabolism. It is a fascinating puzzle to work on. It constantly challenges me and my research team to think outside the box when trying to decipher the unknowns related to mosquito metabolism.
Dr. Patricia Scaraffia's work focuses on the secrets of mosquito metabolism.
Credit:Dr. Patricia Scaraffia
What are the metabolic challenges faced by mosquitoes after feeding on blood?
Female mosquitoes are a very captivating biological system. It is during blood feeding that female mosquitoes can transmit dangerous, and sometimes lethal, pathogens to humans. Interestingly, the blood that the females take could be twice their body weight, which is impressive. Female mosquitoes have evolved efficient mechanisms to digest blood meals, eliminate excess water, absorb and transport nutrients, synthesize new molecules, metabolize excess nitrogen, remove nitrogen waste, and successfully lay eggs within 72 hours! Despite significant progress in understanding how females overcome these metabolic challenges, we have not yet fully elucidated the intricate metabolic pathways, networks, and signaling cascades, nor the molecular and biochemical bases underlying the multiple regulatory mechanisms that may exist in blood-fed female mosquitoes.
What are the greatest potential benefits of understanding mosquito metabolism?
Metabolism is a complicated process that involves the entire set of chemical transformations present in an organism. A metabolic challenge faced by mosquitoes is how to break down ammonia that results from digesting a blood meal and is toxic to the mosquito. With NIAID support, we found that in the absence of a functional metabolic cycle to detoxify ammonia, A. aegypti mosquitoes use specific metabolic pathways that were believed to be non-existent in insects. This discovery has opened a new field of study.
A better understanding of mosquito metabolism and its mechanisms of regulation in A. aegypti and other mosquito species could lead us to the discovery of common and novel metabolic targets and/or metabolic regulators. It would also provide a strong foundation for the development and implementation of more effective biological, chemical and/or genetic strategies to control mosquito populations around the world.
What are the biggest challenges to studying mosquito metabolism?
We have often observed that genetic silencing or knockdown—a technique to prevent or reduce gene expression—of one or more genes encoding specific proteins involved in mosquito nitrogen metabolism results in a variety of unpredictable phenotypes based on our knowledge of vertebrate nitrogen metabolism. Notably, female mosquitoes get control of the deficiency of certain key proteins by downregulating or upregulating one or multiple metabolic pathways simultaneously and at a very high speed. This highlights the tremendous adaptive capacity of blood-fed mosquitoes to avoid deleterious effects and survive.
We have been collaborating closely with scientists that work at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Metabolomics Core Facility, and more recently, with bioanalytical chemists that work in the Microbiome Center’s Metabolomics and Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Our projects are not turn-key type of projects with quick turn-round times. We have to invest considerable time and effort to successfully develop and/or optimize methods before analyzing mosquito samples. Despite these challenges, our research work keeps motivating us to unlock the metabolic mysteries that female mosquitoes hold.
Your research has focused on Aedes aegypti, the main vector of dengue, Zika, etc.Why did you choose to study this mosquito species rather than others that are also important vectors of malaria and other diseases?
My research has focused on Aedes aegypti not only because it is a vector of pathogens that pose public health threats, but also because it is genetically one of the best-characterized insect species. The availability of the Aedes aegypti genome is a great resource for a wide range of investigations. In addition, Aedes aegypti is relatively simple to rear and maintain in the lab. In my lab, we are interested in expanding our metabolic studies to other mosquito species by working in collaboration with scientists with expertise in the biology of different vectors.
What important questions remain unanswered about mosquito metabolism?
Many important questions remain unanswered about mosquito metabolism. I’d like to highlight a few of them that may help us enhance our knowledge of the mosquito as a whole organism rather than as a linear sum of its parts. For example, what are the genetic and biochemical mechanisms that drive metabolic fluxes in mosquitoes in response to internal or external alterations? How do key proteins interact with each other, and how are they post-translationally regulated to maintain mosquito metabolism? How are the metabolic networks regulated in noninfected and pathogen-infected mosquitoes? What are the critical regulatory points within the mosquito metabolism and the vector-host-pathogen interface?
While basic science will continue to be crucial in answering these questions, to successfully fight against mosquitoes, we must work together as part of a multidisciplinary team of scientists to tightly coordinate our efforts and close the gap between basic and applied science.
Office of Research on Women’s Health and NIH Support for Research on Women’s Health Report of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health: Fiscal Years 2019–2020 508-compliant PDF
