Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are deadly vectors of the arboviral pathogens that cause Dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika and Chikungunya. Our lab is interested in understanding how the genome of mosquitoes and other insects encode the ability to perform adaptive behaviors, including blood-feeding and selecting suitable egg-laying sites. We utilize a broad range of techniques from genomics, genetics, neurobiology, and behavior to address these questions.

We are located in the Department of Zoology at the University of British Columbia, and are also affiliated with the Biodiversity Research Center.

The Mosquito Lab is a community that strives to conduct rigorous, important, collaborative, and open science in an environment that is welcoming, respectful and supportive. We seek to help each member of the laboratory to achieve their goals both in the context of science and beyond. We are firm believers that a diverse community is a better community, and welcome anyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, cultural or economic background, and ability status. We strive not just for diversity within the lab but inclusion as well, and are committed to providing active support to everyone as they navigate their place within the lab, the Zoology department, UBC, and broader scientific communities.

We believe that collaborative science is the best science, that all research contributions are important and should be acknowledged, regardless of career stage or role within the lab. We try to resist the temptation to compare ourselves and our work to others in the lab - we aim to work together, not compete.

We are committed to communicating our science to our colleagues, peers, and to the general public, through concrete actions such as pre-prints, data and protocol sharing, and participation in opportunities to share our work with the general public to help break down barriers to science, combat misinformation, and to improve the diversity of the next generation of scientists by providing access to groups traditionally underrepresented in academia.

Collaborative statement from the members of The Mosquito Lab, June 2021

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