Julian F. Hillyer

Today was the Undergraduate Research Symposium ⁦
@vanderbilt.edu . Great time for the lab to get together, and great presentations by Norbu Shastri and Puspa Shah!
⁩

Consider contributing an article to the special issue of
MDPI Insects titled "Insect Vector Physiology and Competence: Interactions and Adaptations". Questions? DM me.

New paper from the lab! When a mosquito ingests blood, the phagocytic activity of hemocytes increases with warmer environmental temperature and aging @vanderbilt.edu @vuartsci.bsky.social @evolutionvu.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.ji...

Studies on population dynamics are not in the works for us, but it certainly be a good future direction.

Phagocytic hemocytes, independent of pericardial cells, modulate cellular immune responses on the dorsal vessel of mosquitoes, including the infection-induced reduction of the heart rate - Cell and Ti... Infection induces the aggregation of hemocytes on the dorsal vessel of mosquitoes. These hemocytes, called periostial hemocytes, phagocytose pathogens and produce immune factors on the abdominal porti...

New paper: Phagocytic hemocytes, independent of pericardial cells, modulate cellular immune responses on the dorsal vessel of mosquitoes, including the infection-induced reduction of the heart rate @vanderbilt.edu @evolutionvu.bsky.social @vuartsci.bsky.social doi.org/10.1007/s004...

It was a fun seminar and visit!

Frontiers | Warmer temperature accelerates reproductive senescence in mosquitoes To reproduce, most female mosquitoes must ingest blood to obtain nutrients for viable eggs. Global warming is increasing mosquito body temperature and hamper...

This paper provides an explanatory glimpse to organismal observations we made in an earlier paper, which we feel do have ecological implications. In that paper, we demonstrate that warmer temperature accelerates reproductive senescence. doi.org/10.3389/fphy...

Excited to announce our latest article, with possibly the longest title ever. We demonstrate how warmer temperature accelerates the aging-dependent changes to the reproductive tissues of mosquitoes. @vanderbilt.edu @vuartsci.bsky.social @evolutionvu.bsky.social doi.org/10.3390/inse...

Biological Sciences seminar series @vanderbilt.edu kicked off for the year with Dr. Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social presenting on his new discoveries on mosquito hemocytes. Great talk!

Vanderbilt Graduate School announces leadership transitions After concluding her term as associate dean for academic affairs for the Graduate School, Terrah Akard will return to her role as professor of nursing in the School of Nursing. Julián Hillyer, Centenn...

Happy to announce that I added a new role @vanderbilt.edu : Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Graduate School. I'm excited to go on this journey with Dean André Christie-Mizell, Associate Dean Andrea Page-McCaw, and the Graduate School team.

With the summer term having just ended, I'm super proud of Puspa Shah for her summer research as part of the Vanderbilt University Summer Research Program. @vanderbilt.edu @vuartsci.bsky.social

Frontiers | Warmer temperature accelerates reproductive senescence in mosquitoes To reproduce, most female mosquitoes must ingest blood to obtain nutrients for viable eggs. Global warming is increasing mosquito body temperature and hamper...

Proud to announce our latest research! Warmer temperature accelerates reproductive senescence in mosquitoes. @vanderbilt.edu @evolutionvu.bsky.social @vuartsci.bsky.social doi.org/10.3389/fphy...

Hillyer lab lunch! @vuartsci.bsky.social @vanderbilt.edu @evolutionvu.bsky.social

Cellular immune senescence in mosquitoes accelerates when the temperature is warmer. Great research by then grad student Dr. Jordyn Barr and then undergrad Saksham Saksena published in Developmental and Comparative Immunology. @vanderbilt.edu @evolutionvu.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.dc...

Congratulations to the 2025 @vanderbilt.edu Department of Biological Sciences Graduate Student Award winners! @vuartsci.bsky.social

Regulation of diel locomotor activity and retinal responses of Anopheles stephensi by ingested histamine and serotonin is temperature- and infection-dependent This study explores histaminergic and serotonergic signaling-dependent diel locomotor activity and visual sensitivity in the highly invasive malaria vector Anopheles stephensi. Histamine and 5-HT bloo...

Histamine and serotonin alter retinal sensitivity in mosquitoes. Great research by @shirleyluckhart.bsky.social and colleagues. doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Super congrats to Dr. Jordyn Barr for receiving her PhD diploma @vanderbilt.edu #VU2025 . She is an amazing scientist!

Hillyer lab lunch!

The immune deficiency and c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathways drive the functional integration of the immune and circulatory systems of mosquitoes | Open Biology The immune and circulatory systems of animals are functionally integrated. In mammals, the spleen and lymph nodes filter and destroy microbes circulating in the blood and lymph, respectively. In insec...

Nice to see our published RNAseq data be of value in a reanalysis doi.org/10.1098/rsob...

Frontiers | Identification of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and co-transcriptional analysis of mRNAs and lncRNAs in transcriptomes of Anopheles gambiae

Identification of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and co-transcriptional analysis of mRNAs and lncRNAs in transcriptomes of Anopheles gambiae doi.org/10.3389/frna...

Want to read a sample of Dr. Jordyn's Barr dissertation research? See 2/2 doi.org/10.1016/j.ji...

Warmer environmental temperature accelerates aging in mosquitoes, decreasing longevity and worsening infection outcomes - Immunity & Ageing Background Most insects are poikilotherms and ectotherms, so their body temperature is predicated by environmental temperature. With climate change, insect body temperature is rising, which affects ho...

Want to read a sample of Dr. Jordyn's Barr dissertation research? See 1/2 doi.org/10.1186/s129...

Congrats to Dr. Jordyn Barr (center) for successfully defending her PhD‬⁩ @vanderbilt.edu ‬⁩ @vuartsci.bsky.social !

I’ll share a positive. We had a great lab lunch this week. I am super proud of my team for their scholarship, their dedication, their collaborative spirit, and coming together to form a family. I’m very fortunate to lead this team! @vanderbilt.edu @vuartsci.bsky.social @evolutionvu.bsky.social

It’s been that long? Congrats! I suppose time flies when you’re having fun!

Multiple blood feeding bouts in mosquitoes allow for prolonged survival and are predicted to increase viral transmission during dry periods Dry conditions increase blood feeding in mosquitoes, but it is unknown if dehydration-induced bloodmeals are increased beyond what is necessary for re…

New paper in collabroation with @joshuabenoit.bsky.social lab!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Characterization of the Sodium Multi-Vitamin Transporter in the Mosquito Anopheles stephensi and Its Capacity to Mobilize Pantothenate and Biotin Pantothenate (Pan), or vitamin B5, is essential for the synthesis of co-enzyme A (CoA), acetyl-CoA, and numerous downstream physiological processes. We previously demonstrated that Pan is not only ess...

New work with my longtime collaborator and friend Mike Riehle and his team. Fascinating to begin to unravel the biology of vitamin B5/pantothenate in Anopheles stephensi. More to come on this.

Sharing this again. Please share widely with any interested students. Puerto Rico is an amazing place to work. Deadline is in about a month but need to conduct interviews with prospective candidates well before then.

Warmer environmental temperature accelerates aging in mosquitoes, decreasing longevity and worsening infection outcomes - Immunity & Ageing Background Most insects are poikilotherms and ectotherms, so their body temperature is predicated by environmental temperature. With climate change, insect body temperature is rising, which affects ho...

246/250 is Warmer environmental temperature accelerates aging in mosquitoes, decreasing longevity and worsening infection outcomes

I'm very grateful to the people who can do this necessary, careful lab work that we'll need to model climate change impacts on vectors!

One more highlight of 2024. Grad students Cole Meier (graduated) and Shabbir Ahmed and their paper in Developmental & Comparative Immunology: Extracellular matrix proteins Pericardin and Lonely heart mediate periostial hemocyte aggregation in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae doi.org/10.1016/j.dc...