Biocuration and research cyberinfrastructure
Biocuration is the process of taking disparate biological data (information in publications, supplemental files, etc.) and organizing it into more structured and accessible formats. It is the pursuit of making data F.A.I.R. (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable). I have been or currently am a biocurator on numerous projects. Research cyberinfrastructure is the digital tools, systems, web portals, etc. that facilitate research.
selected publications, findings, and projects
VectorByte: A 5-year NSF Division of Biological Infrastructure grant to build a centralized open access data platform; and to provide open access tools to explore and use the data, plus training and workshops, to ensure the initiative reaches a wide breadth of researchers and practitioners.
Characterizing the Vector Data Ecosystem: In this paper we present a catalogue of where arthropod disease vector data is available online. Our VectorByte website also hosts the Vector Data Ecosystem, our attempt to make a living catalogue of available data sources.
VEuPathDB/VectorBase: I was on the project team from 2017-2024 and served as a data curator and outreach team (user support/training) member.
Mosquito Surveillance
I have worked on a number of projects domestically and internationally on mosquito surveillance. This work is primarily related to data collation/curation, the reuse of data once collected, and how to standardize data collected in different ways.
selected publications, findings, and projects
MIReAD, a minimum information standard for reporting arthropod abundance data: In this work we propose data guidelines for making maximally reusable arthropod abundance data
The Anopheles gambaie seasonality profiling project
The Vector Population Dynamics – across the United States project
Rescuing troves of data to tackle emerging mosquito-borne diseases: In this work, which was featured in The Atlantic, we sought to understand the scope of mosquito population surveillance data that might exist and imagine the possibilities if it were collated and made available to researchers.
The role of light, time (chronobiology), and temperature in mosquito physiology and ecology
I ask questions about the temporal biology of mosquito vectors of human disease at two temporal timescales: The daily 24 hour circadian rhythms of mosquitoes and seasonal scales. I seek to understand and exploit rhythms in mosquitoes, as well as the cues (such as light and temperature) that drive these rhythmic behaviors.
I have explored mosquito rhythms at the gene expression, protein, and physiological levels and am currently involved in field work to understand the role of circadian rhythms in ecologically relevant contexts.
selected publications, findings, and projects
Seasonal plasticity in daily timing of flight activity in Anopheles stephensi is driven by temperature modulation of dawn entrainment: In this paper with Daan Van der Veen, we reveal a curious ability of the An. stephensi malaria mosquito to respond to temperature cycles to adjust their daily time-of-activity. We propose this should be investigated further as a potential adaption to extremely warm temperatures, despite likely evolving as a response to the cold of winter.
Quantitative Trait Locus Determining the Time of Blood Feeding in Culex pipiens: In this paper Paul Hickner and I searched for genes that underpin feeding time differences in Culex pippins strains.
Artificial light at night increases Aedes aegypti mosquito biting behavior with implications for arboviral disease transmission: In this paper with Giles Duffield, we demonstrated that the diurnal dengue mosquito, Ae. aegypti, bites more at night when exposed to light. We had previously demonstrated the opposite in the nocturnal An. gambiae malaria mosquito.
The role of time/circadian rhythms in malaria transmission
Malaria transmission occurs in a complex environment that changes dramatically across the 24-hour day. Parasites, which are rhythmic themselves, must move back and forth between a mosquito host and a human host – both which have circadian rhythms in immunity, defense, and more. This work is in collaboration with Prof. Sarah Reece.
