TEDxFIU: Mutant mosquitoes hold key to life-saving perfume


By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17 

Matthew DeGennaro is determined to stop the world’s deadliest animal. Accounting for as many as 725,000 deaths worldwide every year, mosquitoes transmit a variety of infectious diseases including malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile virus and Zika.

A neurogeneticist with 20 years’ experience in biomedical research, FIU Professor Matthew DeGennaro has used molecular genetics to address biological questions throughout his career. His work with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which transmit the Zika virus, has revealed new knowledge about mosquito host-preference, DEET repellency and more.


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