
Dr. Eunice Adedeji, Dept. Biology, York
Dengue fever is a growing global health concern, with over 7.6 million reported cases in 2024. Transmission can be prevented through effective control of its vector, Aedes aegypti. The difficulty in accessing the habitats that this vector occupies and rapid increase in insecticide resistance limits the effectiveness of conventional control methods, necessitating alternative vector control strategies. Gene drive is a genetic engineering technique that biases the probability of an allele/desired trait being transmitted to offspring, thereby allowing the propagation of the trait into wild mosquito populations. Due to its target specificity and ability to propagate through mating, it is environmentally friendly, overcomes the challenge of tracking down breeding sites, and represents an innovative and cost-effective method for mosquito control. We have generated candidate gene drive Aedes aegypti strains expressing Cas9 and/or sgRNAs. The student will receive comprehensive training to execute a series of experiments to assess the gene drive system. There will be exposure to a number of skills, including mosquito husbandry, CRISPR, fluorescent microscopy, and bioinformatics. Students will need to find their own accommodation and be expected to present their findings orally at a research day in York in September 2025.