Marta Andrés de Miguel Principal Investigator
I am interested in studying fundamental aspects of the sensory biology of disease-transmitting mosquitoes than can be exploited to develop better mosquito control tools. I am an ATRAE awardee in the Animal Health Research Centre (CISA), at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
I did my PhD at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) with Inmaculada Canal and Laura Torroja investigating the development of sensory organs Drosophila. I then joined the lab of Martin Goepfert at the University of Goettingen (Germany) as a postdoc to study the auditory system of disease-transmitting mosquitoes. I also worked as a research fellow in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology under the supervision of Walter Haas at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany to implement a molecular surveillance system for tuberculosis control. In 2017, I joined the lab of Joerg Albert at UCL as a Marie Curie fellow to investigate the biophysics of the malaria mosquito ear. In 2019, I was awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to establish my lab at University College London (UCL). I recently moved to the Spanish National Research Council, and hold an Honorary Appointment as Associate Professor at UCL.
Javier Arranz Postdoc
I am a postdoctoral researcher with a background in microbiology, bioinformatics, and infectious disease research. I obtained my PhD in Biomedical Sciences at Universidad San Pablo CEU (Madrid, Spain), where I investigated the interactions between influenza virus infection and bacterial coinfections. My expertise includes genomic analysis, microbial ecology, and the development of computational pipelines to study host–pathogen interactions.
I recently joined the Neuromosquitolab at the Animal Health Research Centre (CISA, INIA-CSIC) as a postdoctoral researcher. Here, I apply bioinformatics approaches to study the sensory biology of disease-transmitting mosquitoes, aiming to integrate molecular and computational insights to better understand their auditory and nervous systems.
Bruno Gomes Postdoc
As a biologist, I am interested in exploring topics related to the physiology and evolutionary biology of insects, particularly when these themes impact animal and human health. I have extensive knowledge of vector-borne diseases and research experience with various species of mosquito, such as Culex pipiens s.l., Anopheles gambiae s.l., Aedes aegypti, as well as phlebotomines (e.g. Phlebotomus argentipes and Lutzomyia longipalpis), the triatomine Rhodnius prolixus and the Drosophila melanogaster as non-target organism. I completed my PhD in the ecology and genetics of the mosquito Culex pipiens at the Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT, Portugal) in 2013. Since then, I have broadened my scientific experience to include molecular studies of insect digestion and insecticide resistance, as well as translational research aimed at developing new applications and tools for vector control, surveillance, and education in institutions in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Portugal.
I am currently working in Marta Andres' laboratory at the Animal Health Research Centre (CISA-INIA) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), focusing on the physiology and behaviour associated with mosquito hearing. I am also interested in public engagement activities and in bridging the gap between art and science.
Clemens Rauer Postdoc
I am interested in finding novel chemical compounds that can inhibit the auditory function in disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Using both chemoinformatics and bioinformatics tools our goal is to better understand the auditory system of mosquitoes and to be able to efficiently and selectively disrupt it.
I did my PhD in theoretical chemistry at the University of Vienna, studying DNA photolesions using ab-initio molecular dynamics. After my PhD I worked in research groups in Germany, the UK and Spain where I deepened my knowledge of computational chemistry and gained experience in bioinformatics and machine learning.
Alumni
Elizabeth Morris, 2021- 2026, recently graduated from the PhD
David Ellis, 2019- 2024, currently a MSCA Global fellow at Cornell University, USA
Anya Suppermpool, 2023- 2024, currently a WT Early Career Award at UCL, UK
Judy Bagi, 2023-2024, currently insectary manager at UCL, UK
Scott Tytheridge, currently graduate student at Imperial College London, UK
Eve Doran, currently technician at UCL, UK