News from our Lab

Nora Cespedes will present her research “IL-10 derived from mast cells protects intestinal barrier integrity during malaria and controls parasite transmission to Anopheles stephensi” at the 2022 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting from October 30 to November 3 in Seattle, WA. She will also co-chair the “Immune Response to Malaria” session with Dr. Andrea Berry of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Severe malaria induces changes in circulating blood levels of the biogenic amines histamine and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and these changes are associated with human disease pathology. Histamine and 5-HT are also important neuromodulators in insects, including mosquitoes. Our overarching hypothesis is that histamine and 5-HT, ingested in blood by feeding mosquitoes, signal through anopheline biogenic amine receptors and alter endogenous biogenic amine levels, life history traits, behavior and mosquito infection success to amplify malaria parasite transmission. These studies are innovative in that they connect novel mosquito biology to clinical observations in malaria, they focus on mosquito ingestion of biogenic amines at physiological levels detected in blood and they will define previously unexplored anopheline gut-brain axes for histaminergic and serotonergic signaling. With completion of these studies with our collaborators Dr. Michael Robert (Virginia Tech), who will provide modeling expertise, and Dr. Ed Lewis (University of Idaho), who will provide statistical expertise,

Congratulations to Hannah Kaylor for being awarded a 2022 University of Idaho USDA REEU $1,000 research scholarship for her project in the Luckhart lab. She’s working with Nora Céspedes and Erinn Donnelly this summer on her project.

Congratulations to Abby Fellows for being awarded a 2022 University of Idaho USDA REEU $1,000 research scholarship for her project in the Luckhart lab. She’s working with Nora Céspedes and Erinn Donnelly this summer on her project.

Congratulations to Alexandria Adams for being awarded a 2022 University of Idaho USDA REEU $1,000 research scholarship for her project in the Luckhart lab. She’ll be starting her project in fall 2022 with Taylor Coles.

Raquel Simão Gurge was recently selected as the new Manager of the Integrated Data Analysis Core (IDAC) facility for the UI Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation (IMCI). As IDAC manager, Raquel will provide technical expertise, service and training to users of IDAC equipment (flow cytometry and sorting, microscopy, digital PCR, etc.) and will use her substantial skills and knowledge of biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology to establish new users and engagement for new technology across campus, providing critical support for ongoing research programs that depend on these resources.

Taylor Coles received a travel scholarship from the UI Institute for Health in the Human Ecosystem to travel to Seattle, WA, to work with our University of Washington collaborator Dr. Jeff Riffell for a week in May 2022. Taylor was also selected as a junior faculty member and mentor for the 2022 National Native Youth Climate Adaptation and Leadership Congress (NYCALC). As a member of the Choctaw Nation, Taylor will share her experiences in STEM and encourage young NYCALC participants to explore their interests in science and pursue educational opportunities in these areas.

Malayna Hambly and Cheyenne Rumsey presented posters on their research projects at the UI Undergraduate Research Symposium at the end of April 2022.

Heather Kivi will start her Medical Laboratory Science degree at Idaho State University in fall 2022

Delaney Wagers will start medical school at the University of Utah in fall 2022.