Martin Lukindu

Graduate Student

Email: mlukindu (at) nd (dot) edu

Office: 357 Galvin Life Sciences

 

My research interests focus on the vector biology of mosquitoes of medical importance in the afrotropics. Before joining Besansky Lab in the fall of 2015, I studied aspects of ecology, behavior and population genetics of Aedes (Stegomyia) africanus in Uganda for my MSc project. Index Zika virus strains were first isolated from this mosquito species, which also transmits several other arboviruses. In the Besansky Lab, I study the genetic structure of Anopheles gambiae (the principal malaria vector in Africa) in isolated lacustrine islands in Uganda with the aim of understanding genetic connectedness between mainland and island populations of this vector. This is important in implementation of futuristic vector control approaches as well managing insecticide resistance. I also study the genomics of Anopheles funestus (another important malaria vector in the afrotropics) where am particularly interested in molecular genotyping of paracentric chromosomal inversions in the genome of this vector.