Kristin Michel, Professor

Kristin Michel

Contact information

267 Chalmers Hall
(785) 532-0161
kmichel@ksu.edu

Lab website: http://www.k-state.edu/michellab

Education

Ph.D. 2002, University of California-Riverside. Entomology.

Area(s) of Specialization

Host-pathogen interactions; Bacterial and fungal entomopathogens; Vector biology.

Research Focus

My laboratory studies the innate immune system of mosquitoes and how it relates to the pathogens these insects transmit. Over the last years, we have identified a variety of immune factors that either positively or negatively affect the survival of the malaria parasite in its mosquito vector. Specifically, we are currently focusing our research effort on a group of serine protease inhibitors called serpins. These proteins control key innate immune reactions against different stages of the malaria parasite and potentially other disease agents. Our long term goal is to apply our findings to the design of novel disease control strategies, which envision the interruption of disease transmission within the mosquito vector.

Recent Primary Research Articles

Zhang X, Zhang S, Kuang J, Sellens KA, Morejon B, Saab SA, Li M, Metto EC, An C, Culbertson CT, Osta MA, Scoglio C, Michel K. 2023. CLIPB4 Is a Central Node in the Protease Network that Regulates Humoral Immunity in Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes. J Innate Immun. 2023;15(1):680-696. doi: 10.1159/000533898.

Morejon B, Michel K. 2023. A zone-of-inhibition assay to screen for humoral antimicrobial activity in mosquito hemolymph. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2023;13:891577. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.891577.

Tawidian P, Kang Q, Michel K. 2023. The Potential of a New Beauveria bassiana Isolate for Mosquito Larval Control. J Med Entomol. 2023 Jan 12;60(1):131-147. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjac179.

Kuang J, Buchon N, Michel K, Scoglio C. 2022. A global gene co-expression network constructed from hundreds of experimental conditions with missing values. BMC Bioinformatics. 2022 May 9;23(1):170. doi: 10.1186/s12859-022-04697-9.

Tawidian P, Coon KL, Jumpponen A, Cohnstaedt LW, Michel K. 2021. Host-Environment Interplay Shapes Fungal Diversity in Mosquitoes. mSphere. 2021 Oct 27;6(5):e0064621. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00646-21.

Rhodes VL, Thomas MB, Michel K. 2018. The interplay between dose and immune system activation determines fungal infection outcome in the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. Dev Comp Immunol. 2018 Aug;85:125-133. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2018.04.008.

Review Articles

Tawidian P, Rhodes VL, Michel K. 2019. Mosquito-fungus interactions and antifungal immunity. Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2019 Aug;111:103182. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2019.103182. Epub 2019 Jun 29. Review. PubMed PMID: 31265904; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6639037.

Bartholomay LC, Michel K. 2018. Mosquito Immunobiology: The Intersection of Vector Health and Vector Competence. Annu Rev Entomol. 2018 Jan 7;63:145-167. doi: 10.1146/annurev-ento-010715-023530. Review. PubMed PMID: 29324042.

Meekins DA, Kanost MR, Michel K. 2017. Serpins in arthropod biology. Seminars in cell & developmental biology 62:105-119. PubMed PMID: 27603121, PMCID: PMC5318264

View the complete publication list in NCBI