The Mosquito Molecular Neuroscience lab co-organized de Mosquito neuroethology and neuroecology symposium at the International Congress of Neuroethology 2026 in Vancouver

30th July, 2026

The Mosquito Molecular Neuroscience Lab participated in the organization of the Mosquito Neuroethology and Neuroecology symposium, held within the framework of the International Congress of Neuroethology (ICN 2026), which took place from July 26–31, 2026, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

The International Congress of Neuroethology is one of the leading global meetings in the field, bringing together researchers studying how nervous systems generate and control natural behaviours across diverse animal species. Organized by the International Society for Neuroethology (ISN), the congress provides a platform for scientific exchange, collaboration, and discussion of the latest advances in neural mechanisms underlying animal behaviour.

The Mosquito Neuroethology and Neuroecology symposium brought together scientists working on mosquito sensory systems, neural circuits, behaviour, and ecological interactions. The session highlighted recent discoveries on how mosquitoes perceive and process environmental cues, communicate, reproduce, and adapt their behaviour, providing new insights into the complex relationship between mosquito neurobiology and ecology.

Through its involvement in the co-organization of this symposium, the Mosquito Molecular Neuroscience Lab contributed to strengthening international collaborations and promoting the study of mosquito neuroscience within the broader neuroethology community. This participation reflects the laboratory’s commitment to advancing knowledge of the molecular and neural mechanisms that shape mosquito behaviour, with important implications for understanding disease-vector biology.

The Mosquito Molecular Neuroscience Lab successfully organized the STOP-MATING Project Workshop: Novel Strategies to Disrupt Mosquito Mating for Vector Control, bringing together researchers from different disciplines to discuss innovative approaches for understanding and disrupting mosquito reproduction as a strategy to combat mosquito-borne diseases.

The workshop, held at CI2A-CSIC in a hybrid format, introduced the goals and scientific vision of the STOP-MATING project, a European initiative funded through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Staff Exchanges programme. The project brings together partners from Europe and Africa to investigate the molecular, neurobiological, ecological, and behavioural mechanisms underlying mosquito mating, with the long-term goal of developing novel and sustainable vector control tools.

The event featured project presentations by consortium members, including Marta Andrés (INIA-CSIC) and Federica Bernardini (Imperial College London), together with invited talks from leading researchers working in vector ecology, tropical medicine, neuroscience, and insect behaviour. The programme fostered lively discussions on recent advances in mosquito biology, auditory communication, field ecology, functional genomics, and emerging technologies aimed at disrupting mosquito mating.

Beyond showcasing the scientific objectives of STOP-MATING, the workshop provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen collaborations, exchange expertise across disciplines, and promote knowledge transfer among researchers. These interactions are essential for accelerating the development of innovative, environmentally responsible strategies to reduce mosquito populations and ultimately contribute to the control of mosquito-borne diseases worldwide.

Past Highlights

• August, 2025: Our new publication The GABAA receptor RDL modulates the auditory sensitivity of malaria mosquitoes is out in iScience, check it out here!

  https://stopmatingproject.eu/

• We have been awarded a MSCA Staff Exchange grant named STOP-MATING to advance on the reproductive control of disease-transmitting mosquitoes, as part of a consortium with University of Perugia (Italy), University of Oldenburg (Germany), Imperial College London (United Kingdom), Institut Pasteur Bangui (Central African Republic), Institut Pasteur Madagascar (Madagascar), Biogents and Sequentia!

• March 2025: The lab has moved to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, Spain.

• New technician position available immediately! This is a temporary position that will be advertised as 12-month position soon:

  apply here

• August 2023: Press - Dr Marta Andres and Prof Joerg Albert were interviewed for a blog publication in NPR, explaining the breakthroughs in mosquito auditory function and how these provide insights for future mosquito control tools.

• August 2023: We have gained an extension for our UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship grant (In the middle of the swarm: neuromodulation of the auditory function in malaria mosquitoes: MR/Y011732/1)! This extends our work on biogenic amine auditory modulation in malaria mosquitoes until April 2027.

• June 2023: Lubna Maherally joins us as part of the In2Research placement scheme to work on an 8 week project that is centred around manipulating mosquito swarming and mating behaviour via the interception of their receptors.

• June 2023: Anya Suppermpool joins the lab as a postdoc funded by the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.

• March-May 2023: We have been awarded a UCL Engagement Fund together with Claire Sangbakembi Ngounou from Institute Pasteur de Bangui (Central African Republic) and Diego Ayala from Institute of Research for Development (France) to study the implications of urban settings for malaria mosquito audition