Host: Joerg Graf/Peter Gogarten
“Tsetse microbiota: origin, evolution and prospects for vector control”
Summary: The tsetse fly has significant medical importance as the obligate vector of African trypanosomes. In addition to these parasites, tsetse flies have a very limited digestive tract microbiota which is instrumental to tsetse fitness, and consequently, offers novel avenues for vector control.
Dr. Rita V.M. Rio is a Professor of Biology in the West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, with an additional appointment in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology in the WVU School of Medicine. She joined the Biology faculty in 2007 and helped start the Genomics Area of Emphasis in the department. Her research on the evolution of host-associated microbiota and the role these play towards health and ecology has won national funding. The Rio lab focuses on the discovery of novel molecules and methods for the biocontrol of vector-borne diseases. As a first-generation college student, Dr. Rio has become increasingly interested in student retention in STEM, particularly of college students within underrepresented groups. She has served on the editorial review board of the journals; Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Frontiers of Microbiology, Frontiers in Insect Science and Scientific Reports. Dr. Rio has been a member of numerous advisory panels for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Rio has a BS cum laude in Biology from UCONN, a MS in Entomology from Penn State and a PhD from Yale University in the Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases.
https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008992
https://biology.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty/rita-rio
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