Apr 26, 2023
In our increasingly globalized world, tackling issues such as mosquito-borne disease means engaging in discussion across disciplines as well as regional borders. Last month, Staff Scientist Katie Westby traveled to an international conference to add Tyson research to the conversation.
The conference Urban Spaces and Mosquitoes on a Changing Planet, held in Barcelona, Spain from March 23-25, drew together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers for an interdisciplinary look at vector-borne disease across city environments. Katie’s presentation “Cold nights, City lights: Artificial light at night reduces photoperiodically induced diapause in urban and rural populations of Aedes albopictus” examined the impact of light pollution on tiger mosquito life cycles, based on research conducted at Tyson.
Highlights of the conference for Katie included meeting researchers studying diapause of Aedes albopictus in Greece, and learning how people are thinking about the potential impacts of “green cities” on mosquito populations.
Congratulations, Katie, for representing Tyson abroad!
Learn more about her mosquito research here.
About the author
Colleen McDermott is an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis studying environmental analysis and writing. They created Placemaking Tyson during summer 2022 and currently serve Tyson as Communications Associate.