Conor McMeniman PhD
Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology
cmcmeni1@jhu.edu
Telephone Number: 443-287-8764
Fax Number: 410-955-0105
W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
615 N. Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21205
Room: E5644 Bloomberg School of Public Health
Lab Page
Telephone Number: 443-287-8764
Fax Number: 410-955-0105
W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
615 N. Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21205
Room: E5644 Bloomberg School of Public Health
Lab Page
Areas of Research
Cellular + Molecular NeuroscienceNeural Circuits, Ensembles + Connectomes
Graduate Program Affiliations
Molecular and Cellular Basis of Mosquito Attraction to Humans
The African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae and yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti are dangerous vectors for blood-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue because of an innate preference of these mosquito species to blood-feed on humans. Mosquitoes are largely thought to target humans using their keen sense of smell. Given this relationship, identifying the chemosensory cues and neural circuits that act in concert to guide these mosquito species toward humans may help to devise powerful strategies that halt pathogen transmission.
In the McMeniman lab, we employ integrative approaches including analytical chemistry, genome engineering and functional imaging to elucidate how human scent is detected by the mosquito nervous system, and how this olfactory percept is altered by changes in internal physiological state during pathogen infection.
By studying the chemistry of human scent and how the mosquito nervous system detects it, our research aims to provide a global view of the odors, genes, and neural circuits that allow mosquitoes to find humans. We aim to develop innovative strategies which lure or repel these mosquitoes, and other anthropophilic disease vectors, away from humans to stop them transmitting vector-borne diseases.