Gladys Gutiérrez-Bugallo, Ph.D.

Research

In the Dimopoulos lab, I will explore the factors that allow female mosquitos to pass viruses to their progeny. The mosquito Aedes aegypti is responsible for transmitting numerous disease-causing viruses to humans. But the mosquitos can also pass along such viruses—as well as viruses that infect insects only—to their offspring. But whether and how this form of transmission takes place is poorly understood. The Dimopoulos lab has generated strains of Aedes aegypti that lack key components of the mosquito’s immune system. Using advanced techniques in molecular genetics and genomics, insect virology, and immunology, I will infect mosquitoes with a combination of viruses—including dengue and Zika as well as insect-specific viruses—and identify the factors that promote or inhibit transmission from infected mother to offspring. I will assess the role played by the insect’s immune system and its microbiome and determine whether co-infection with insect-specific viruses hampers transmission of viruses that infect humans. My work could lead to novel approaches to controlling deadly outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases.