Matthew DeGennaro

I am a neurogeneticist with over 20 years of experience in biomedical research. My research program at Florida International University seeks to understand the molecular mechanism of mosquito attraction and repellency. During my post-doc at Rockefeller University, I created the first mosquito mutant using zinc-finger nucleases to initiate the molecular genetic analysis of olfactory receptor function in Aedes aegypti. This mosquito is responsible for the transmission of dengue, zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. My work revealed new knowledge about the integration of host cues, mosquito host-preference, mosquito nectar-seeking, and the mechanism of DEET repellency. My current goal is to identify olfactory receptors that mosquitoes use to sense their human and plant hosts. Genetic analysis and expression pattern mapping of these receptors are crucial first steps to understand how the mosquito codes host odor information. My research program will provide molecular targets that can be used to screen for new chemicals to modify mosquito behavior.

A review on DEET repellency I recently published.

My lab's website.

My CV.

March 2016