KRISTA SERAYDAR. Senior Honors Project: Selection of house fly for resistance to imidacloprid and the role of behavioral mechanisms for resistance to imidacloprid-containing baits
MARK HALVORSEN. Post-Bachelor's employee. Project: Molecular analysis of stable fly blood meals for determining persistance of identifiable host DNA
Mark is a University of Florida graduate with a degree in Biology, and is currently conducting a time-series analysis of host blood meal identification in the stable fly. The cytochrome b gene of cattle and humans is targeted for identification, amplified via PCR and examined using gel electrophoresis. The main goal of the research is to gain a better understanding of how factors such as gender, developmental stage and host species affect the ability to detect host blood in insects.
CORIE SINGER. Post-Bachelor's employee. Project: Molecular analysis of field-collected mosquitoes for determining presence of the heartworm nematode, Dirofilaria immitis
Corie is a University of Florida graduate with a degree in Biology and a minor in Entomology. At this time, she is identifying mosquitoes collected in Alachua County, Florida and analyzing them for the presence of the Heartworm Disease-causing nematode, Dirofilaria immitis. D. immitis is detected using polymerase chain reaction for DNA amplification and is then examined through gel electrophoresis. The objective of this study is to identify potential mosquito vectors of D. immitis in Alachua County. Further knowledge regarding host and locality preference is expected to be gained as well.