Current areas of strength include the molecular basis of mosquito reproduction, insect molecular virolo/dnn403/gy and pathology, insect molecular toxicology, and molecular systematics and evolution.
Faculty and Staff
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Voltage-gated sodium channels are essential for action potential initiation and propagation in the nervous system and other excitable cells.
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Use of amplified fragment length polymorphism markers to determine relationships of populations and closely related species in the genus Rhagoletis (Diptera: Tephritidae)
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Endosymbiont, Arbovirus & Mosquito Interactions and the Disease Control
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Dr. Xi's lab uses a number of functional genomics tools to dissect interactions among dengue viruses, endosymbiontic bacterium Wolbachia and mosquito host with the goal to develop novel genetic strategies for blocking disease transmission in mosquito.
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Zhiyong Xi |
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Molecular biology of baculoviruses and their use in biotechnology
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Research in the Thiem laboratory focuses on understanding the interactions of baculoviruses with their host insects. Areas of interest include the molecular basis of baculovirus host-range determination and insects immune respnses to baculovirus invections.
The primary goal of our biotechnology research is improving the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) for expression of membrane proteins. Because membrane proteins are key targets for both drugs and insecticides obtaining sufficient quantities of these proteins for structural studies is essential for the designing new pharmaceuticals and insecticides. For this project we are developing new insect cell lines and expression vectors.
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Suzanne Thiem |