We are a population genetics lab that combines molecular biology and evolutionary principles. There are currently two main areas of research interest. One is very applied; this is exploring methods to engineer genetic pest management in mosquitoes in Hawaiʻi. The other area is a general interest in the natural history of Hawaiʻi and pursuing various projects to learn more about the evolution of species here in Hawaiʻi and across the Indo-Pacific.

My ICEMHH research project centers on generating genetic management resources and strategies in two important but relatively understudied mosquito species, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus. This entails porting and testing engineered underdominance from Drosophila to mosquitoes, establishing Wolbachia-based Cytoplasmicly Incompatible (CI) lines of mosquitoes, and exploring the complex interactions between Wolbachia infection and genome-wide host gene expression.