McKenzi Norris

McKenzi Norris

May 16, 2022

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Oh how time flies: Updates that don't suck

Howdy! I want to first and foremost apologize for not affirming those who invested their support into our project, before and after it. While we adapted to limitations, I should’ve been much more flexible about making updates and involving others, and I’m sorry I didn’t put in the effort to make our project engaging and dynamic, especially compared to new projects in these trying times.

However, this study did play a pivotal role in my academic, professional, and personal life, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without y’all. It was a piece of larger, on-going research about mosquito population genetics by the DeGennaro Lab at the University of Florida. Thanks to your support, I was able to present the preliminary findings at the Society for Vector Ecology’s 49th Annual Conference in Puerto Rico, which I’ve uploaded here. 2019 brought a lot of firsts, including my first research project, grant, and conference poster! Looking back, it was clearly a product of its time, so I hope you’ll trust that I’ve grown a lot and have become a very different researcher compared to then.

Those mosquito bites left me itching for more, so I’m happy to share that I’ve been continuing to pursue research in zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, including detecting the invasive Asian Longhorned Tick in SC for the first time. I have posted other updates on my LinkedIn if you’d like to see what I've been up to. I am now a first-year MS student in Epidemiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I’m developing spillover risk maps for a project supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development to detect emerging pandemic-potential viruses for government stakeholders around the world. My ever-changing interests have included health disparities and human-centered design, so I haven’t made long-term plans, but I’ll be applying to PhDs and considering jobs this fall. I know that lots has changed, but great things are coming soon, though I can’t share quite yet!

Alas,

McKenzi Norris


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About This Project

Mosquito habitat expansion has allowed for their reintroduction in the South. There is an increasing rate of insecticide-resistant populations, largely due to genetic and environmental adaptations. The goal of this project is to go to unserviced field sites and set field traps in each site. The mosquitoes collected will be characterized at local mosquito control offices. From our samples, I will produce a report stating the gender and species of the mosquitoes.

Blast off!

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