Becoming Bug-Buddies With Mosquitoes

Beginning in July of 2024, I've worked in the Kaushansky Lab, a malaria lab within The Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute Center for Global Infectious Disease. In my role, I primarily work in the mosquito insectary, where we raise mosquitoes and infect them with rodent malaria. I assist in mosquito cycling, insectary upkeep, and preparation and distribution of cages of mosquitoes to our lab and other malaria labs within CGIDR. I also assist in lab tasks, including RNA processing and PCR. Finally, one of my favorite tasks, I dissect mosquitoes to isolate and examine their midguts for malaria parasite infection levels.
This experience is ongoing, and has been incredibly educational and enjoyable. I've learned an immense amount about disease, malaria, mosquitoes, and wet lab research as a whole. I wanted to work in a disease lab to see if research was an area that interests me, and I can certainly say now that it is. I look forward to becoming more involved in the research projects happening within the lab as I spend more time there.