Alex Niemann

I am a junior in Human Health Biology at Kansas State University. I joined the Michel lab in 2023. Besides assisting in general lab maintenance and mosquito rearing, I am exploring research options in the molecular biology of insect immunity and mosquito-fungus interactions.

email: awniemann@ksu.edu

Amare Sumpter

I received bachelors degrees in Anthropology and Medical Microbiology at Kansas State University and currently pursue a one-year Masters degree in Biomedical Science at Kansas State. I joined the Michel lab in 2022 and focus on maintaining the mosquito colonies. My career goal is to become a neurologist and I plan to start medical school in the fall.

email: amare1@ksu.edu

Ashmita Pandey

I graduated with a M.Sc. in Biology from New Mexico State University in 2021. I joined the Michel lab in Fall 2021 to pursue my doctorate degree in Biology. My research focuses on the role of serpins in controlling mosquito immunity. As part of this work, I investigate serpins as inhibitors of the Toll pathway.

email: ashmitap@ksu.edu

Bianca Morejon Viteri

I received my bachelor's degree in Biology from Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador in 2017. I joined the lab in the Fall of 2019 to pursue my doctorate degree in Microbiology and advanced to candidacy in 2021. My Ph.D. research focuses on immune system regulation in mosquitoes. I am investigating the contribution of proteases and their homologs on mosquito immune responses such as melanization and antimicrobial activity. email: bmorejon744@ksu.edu

David Hayes

I received my bachelor's degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Shepherd University in 2021. I joined the lab in the summer of 2022 to pursue my doctorate degree in Microbiology. My research focuses on mosquito-fungus interactions. As part of this work, I also investigate the efficacy of locally isolated entomopathogens on mosquito source reduction. email: davidhayes@ksu.edu

Kristin Michel

I obtained a Diplom in Biology (M.Sc. equiv.) at the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel, Germany, and a Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of California Riverside. I did my Ph.D. training with Dr. Peter Atkinson working on insect transformation systems and my postdoctoral training with Dr. Fotis C. Kafatos on mosquito immunology at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Imperial College London. I joined the faculty in Biology at K-State in 2007. email: kmichel@ksu.edu