The Slotman lab is headed by Michel Slotman and investigates the evolutionary and behavioral genetics and genomics of pathogen transmitting mosquitoes. A major focus are the African malaria mosquitoes of the An. gambiaecomplex. Our work is driven both by fundamental questions about the behavior and evolution of these disease vectors, as well as by a desire to provide the insights needed to develop novel and more efficient vector control. Additionally, we are interested in understanding the impact of vector control on mosquito populations. Our work in this area has focused on malaria mosquito populations on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea through our collaboration with Medical Care Development International (MCDI) which implements the Bioko Island Malaria Elimination Project (BIMEP). The is lab also part of the Western Gulf Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases. As part of this center, we are examining the impact of vector control in the Houston area on Culex quinquefasciatus effective population size and metabolic resistance against insecticides. Other research topics in the lab include the adaptation of the olfaction system of An. gambiae to human hosts, the role of chemosensation in Anopheles mating behavior, the genomics of behavioral resistance on Bioko Island, and the genomics of speciation. A more detailed overview of our research projects is available here.
Michel is a member of the Vector Biology Research Group at Texas A&M University, which unites faculty, post-docs and students with a shared interest in vectors and the pathogens they transmit. Additionally, he is a member of the interdisciplinary research program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
If you are interested in our work, feel free to explore our website and email Michel if you have any questions. Additional information for prospective students and post-docs is available here.
News & Announcements
- The lab is looking to recruit a new PhD student to start in the fall of 2021. The research topic will be open to discussion but will broadly involve the behavioral genetics/genomics of mosquitoes. Please contact Michel at maslotman@tamu.edu if you are interested injoining the lab. (9/18/2020).
- Maral Molaei joined the lab as a post-doctoral associate. Maral completed her PhD in Jason Karpac’s lab working on the role ofNFkB inthe regulation of lipid homeostasis. She will examine the how the circadian clock controls host seeking and mating behaviors in Anopheles coluzzii. (10/1/20202).
- Our paper on the genetics of sterility and inviability in hybrids between An. coluzzii and An. quadriannulatus hasbeen published in Frontiers in Genetics. Deitz KC, W Takken, MA Slotman (2020) The genetic architecture of post-zygotic reproductive isolation between Anopheles coluzzii and An. quadriannulatus. Frontiers in Genetics 11: 925 (8/20/2020)
- Congratulations to Zach Popkin-Hall for successfully defending his PhD dissertation and for moving on to a post-doctoral position at the University of North Carolina. (8/18/2020)
- Former graduate student Kevin Deitz briefly rejoined the lab as a post-doc.
Kevin will work on the genetics of hybrid sterility and inviability in the Anopheles gambiae complex. (5/1/2020).
- Our paper on comparing chemosensory gene expression in antennae of male and female An. coluzzii and An. quadriannulatus was published in Parasites and Vectors. (4/28/2020):Species and sex-specific chemosensory gene expression in Anopheles coluzzii and An. quadriannulatus antennae (2020) Athrey G, Z Popkin-Hall, LV Cosme, W Takken, MA Slotman Parasites Vectors 13,212.
- Congratulations to Cecilia Huang for passing her Ecol. and Evol. Biology
degree program qualifying exam. Well done! (3/27/2020).
- Vinaya Shetty joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow. He will be working
on the role of the circadian clock in Aedes aegypti host seeking behavior. (3/16/2020).
- We received funding from NIH to study the role of the circadian clock in An. coluzzii mosquitoes. (1/1/2020)
Looking for information on mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit?
Check out the website of the American Mosquito Control Association.
The Division of Vector Borne Infectious Diseases of the CDC also maintains a website with information on arthropod transmitted diseases.
Dr. Michael Merchant has set up an interactive website about some of Texas’ most problematic mosquitoes. Go on a Mosquito Safari.