The Lambrechts Lab

📣 I'm recruiting a postdoc researcher to join my team for a project on mosquito-specific viruses and host interactions. Peep the job description & how to apply below. Perfect for soon-to-be or recent PhD graduates in mosquito vector biology 🦟 or arbovirology 🦠
🗓️ Application deadline 31 August 2025

Moustiquaire ou citronnelle ? Comment se protéger vraiment des moustiques

Moustiquaire ou citronnelle ? Comment se protéger vraiment des moustiques

Metabolic homeostasis favors tolerance to persistent viral infection in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes The mosquito Aedes aegypti harbors a wide range of persistent viral infections, including both medically important arboviruses and insect-specific viruses (ISVs). However, the mechanisms underpinning ...

How can mosquitoes tolerate viral infections?

In our latest preprint we show that mosquitoes that can regulate their metabolism after infection can tolerate viral infections better.

Thanks to all the authors for all your ideas and contributions

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Mosquito immune cells enhance dengue and Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti Nature Communications - Infection of mosquito immune cells by dengue and Zika virus enhances the spread of virus infection to mosquito tissues, such as the salivary glands, to promote virus...

Despite all the shit going on, we have to celebrate our victories. New publication with @entomososwin.bsky.social and @vectorimmunity.bsky.social showing that hemocytes play a central role in disseminating flaviviruses to secondary tissues potentially functioning as a Trojan Horse(TBD)
rdcu.be/euj4g

Interested in using phylogenetics to study arboviruses? Our new review in @natrevgenet.nature.com‬ by @viralverity.bsky.social‬, @sdellicour.bsky.social‬, and Marta Giovanetti has you covered!

📖 👉 rdcu.be/epH2U

Short 🧵

Just few days left to apply to one of these postdoc positions in my infectious disease modelling Unit at @pasteur.fr in Paris!

The Wadsworth Center is expanding it's research focus on #virology /vector-borne diseases!
www.asmcareerconnections.org/job/research-scientist-5-g-31/78488664/
This is a unicorn assistant prof equivalent position with 12-month hard money salary and no teaching commitments (!)
Reposts appreciated 🙏

🚨New preprint from the lab! Work led by our talented former postdoc @karthikeyanc.bsky.social where we show that incomplete larval control can make things worse by producing bigger and meaner adult mosquitoes that are more efficient vectors of Zika. See thread below www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Thermal tolerance of Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs is associated with urban adaptation and human interactions Climate change will profoundly affect mosquito distributions and their ability to serve as vectors for disease, specifically with the anticipated incr…

Interesting study! How the thermal tolerance of Aedes mosquito eggs varies depending on urbanisation - shows how critical developmental periods can facilitate adaptation to novel environments. Work from Souvik Chakraborty, @joshuabenoit.bsky.social & others www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🧪

Aedes albopictus (asian tiger mosquito)

🦟 Bioinformatics Research Scientist position open in my lab in Nice (FR) to study Aedes mosquito retrotransposons & their interactions with arboviruses collab w/ @salehlabparis.bsky.social & @lambrechtslab.bsky.social
Apply: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/359830
Please boost! #ArboRetro #Bioinformatics

Fig. 1. Contemporary and ancient sample sites in the Americas and synteny plot between genomes of leprosy-causing bacteria. (A) Pie charts indicate the site location or countries from where samples were collected for screening. Charts are color-coded according to the presence or absence of M. lepromatosis and if they are from present-day biopsies or ancient archaeological origin. (B) Illustration of mauve progressive alignments showing possible genome rearrangements and synteny blocks between four leprosy-causing bacterial genomes using pyGenomeViz (35). Species (and strains in parentheses) are indicated in bold on the left. Genome sizes are shown in megabases (Mb) below each genome. The Viridis color palette (Matplotlib) is used to represent genome position along the M. lepromatosis reference genome (NHDP-LPM-385), with a continuous gradient from start to end. Genomes that are fully syntenic with the reference, such as other M. lepromatosis strains, display an almost identical color order, reflecting preserved genomic structure. In contrast, the M. leprae TN genome shows a disrupted color sequence due to differences in genome organization relative to the coordinates of the M. lepromatosis reference. Gray lines connect collinear regions, while orange highlights indicate inverted blocks (on the minus strand) relative to the NHDP-LPM-385 reference.

A new Science study shows that the mycobacterium M. lepromatosis infected humans in the Americas before European contact.

The findings reshape current views of leprosy in the Americas and provide insights into the long-term interactions between humans and infectious diseases. scim.ag/3HuEjGB

Black Death bacterium has become less lethal after genetic tweak Reducing the number of copies of one gene in the pathogen could also make it more transmissible.

A small genetic change makes the bacterium that caused the plague less fatal but possibly more transmissible

https://go.nature.com/43xhpG1

We're looking for a PhD student to join us at Vilnius University in Lithuania. We work on RNA virus evolution computationally but we'd like to generate more mosquito RNA virus sequence data. Official ad: www.gmc.vu.lt/en/doctoral-.... Please share & continue reading if interested.

The CNRS research department “Insects Models of Innate Immunity” invites applications for a group leader position. Applicants must have a strong record of scientific accomplishments in Drosophila genetics, innate immunity/host-pathogen interactions, or insect physiology. We are looking for candidates who will bring new lines of research to the department (evolution, regulation of gene expression, metabolism, bioinformatics, etc…) and willing to work collaboratively with existing groups in the NetRNA LabEx network (https://labex-netrna.cnrs.fr/presentation/netrnateams/). The department “Insects Models of Innate Immunity” performs cutting edge basic research on insect-pathogen interactions, focusing on the fruit-fly Drosophila as well as vector mosquitoes Anopheles and Aedes (https://ibmc.cnrs.fr/en/laboratoire/m3i/). The department is part of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMC), located at the heart of the University of Strasbourg campus in France. The IBMC provides a world-class research environment, equipped with cutting-edge facilities for proteomics, genomics, advanced cell imaging and a dedicated insectarium for infectiology studies, including BSL3 containment. Our department participates in the NetRNA consortium, which offers a start-up package of 450k€ covering salary and research support for 3-5 years. Applicants should submit before March 31st , 2025, a curriculum vitae, a summary of research accomplishments (1-2 pages), a summary of future research plans (1-2 pages) and contact information for three professional references. Applications in the form of a single pdf document, or any question regarding the position, should be sent to m3i-sec@ibmc-cnrs.unistra.fr.

Great looking group leader position at CNRS Strasbourg on host-pathogen interactions in insects

Reduced microbe abundance in an urban larval development container increases Aedes aegypti susceptibility to Zika virus Author summary Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread viruses like dengue and Zika, inhabit different environments within Africa. Ancestral forms of Ae. aegypti occupy forested habitats, while domesti...

Great new study from the Dickson lab @utmb.bsky.social reveals how the microbial environment of Aedes aegypti larvae affects #ZIKV transmission. #Mosquitoes raised in urban containers (plastic buckets) are more susceptible than those from forest habitats (coconut husks) dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Sheep serve as amplifying hosts of Japanese encephalitis virus, increasing the risk of human infection Sheep serve as amplifying hosts for transmission cycle of JEV, increasing the public health risk of human infection.

Sheep serve as amplifying hosts of Japanese encephalitis virus, increasing the risk of human infection | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Mosquito-borne viral disease sweeping Indian Ocean islands Safety issues with the only available vaccine complicates response to chikungunya

Mosquito-borne viral disease sweeping Indian Ocean islands | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Our paper is now published in its final form: rdcu.be/elV6u @biomedcentral.bsky.social @salehlabparis.bsky.social @merklinglab.bsky.social @pasteur.fr

Post-doctoral position on host-vector transmission of Zika virus using mouse models - Research The Mouse Genetics Laboratory is recruiting a post-doctoral fellow to study the role of host genetic determinants in the transmission of Zika virus between mice and mosquitoes in a collaborative proje...

Exciting Opportunity! The Mouse Genetics Lab @institutpasteur.bsky.social is seeking a #postdoc researcher to explore the genetic determinants of Zika virus transmission in #mice and #mosquitoes. Join us in advancing public health research with cutting-edge resources! #Virology #Genetics #ZIKV 🦠🔬

Thrilled to receive @anrs-mie.bsky.social grant with @lambrechtslab.bsky.social & @retrogenomics.bsky.social! Making mosquitoes intolerant to arboviruses. Thanks @pasteur.fr, @inserm.fr & @cnrs.fr for support. Exciting times for #ARBORETRO project! Stay tunned.

did adaptations to humans leave traces in the genome of Aedes aegypti? check out our paper out today in Nature Ecology and Evolution. a BIG thanks to all the collaborators around the world that made this possible.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Prolonged exposure to heat enhances mosquito tolerance to viral infection Communications Biology - Single versus multi-generational exposure to increased temperature alters mosquito immune response to viral infection, with implications for mosquito-virus interactions...

Do you want to know if global warming will impact how mosquito respond to viral infection? check our latest publication in Communications Biology rdcu.be/d8wse

'The US's healthcare decisions pose serious threats to scientific progress and cooperation' OP-ED. A group of researchers, doctors and NGO representatives express their concern about the Trump administration's initial measures, and point out that international cooperation is vital to tackle ...

www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/a...

Medical Entomology Which mosquitoes transmit malaria? Is the tiger mosquito the vector of the Zika virus? How is the transmission going? Find answers in the MOOC "Medical Entomology".

Boost your knowledge of pathogen-carrying arthropods with the “Medical Entomology” MOOC from Institut Pasteur! Enroll now on FUN and explore how vectors transmit pathogens and impact public health: www.fun-mooc.fr/en/courses/m... #Entomology #MOOC #PublicHealth @pasteur.fr

Photos of Aedes aegypti female (left) and male (right). Numbers indicate location of collected tissues (listed in legend boxes). Photos by Alex Wild.

I am thrilled to present the Mosquito Cell Atlas! We analyzed 367K nuclei from 19 tissues in male & female mosquitoes, creating a comprehensive resource for vector biology & infectious disease research.

Plus we made some surprising discoveries! 🦟🧵

biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

1/n

Check out our latest preprint revealing the unexpected role of a #mosquito cytochrome P450 in #DENV susceptibility! While P450s are typically associated with #insecticide resistance, we show they can also have #antiviral activity. This long-term effort was brilliantly led by @merklinglab.bsky.social

Call for applications 2025 - Creation of new research groups at the Institut Pasteur - Research The Institut Pasteur launches an international call to recruit new junior research group leaders in the application of cutting-edge transdisciplinary approaches to the exploration of host-microbe, tis...

🌟 Join Institut Pasteur as a Junior Research Group Leader 🌟
Explore host-microbe interactions in key areas like vaccinology, infectious diseases, neuro-immunology, and maternal health.

📅 Deadline: Feb 28, 2025 (few weeks left!)

Apply now ⬇️

February cover illustrating mosquito disseminating insecticide to control dengue in Brazil

The Lancet Infectious Diseases' February issue is online!

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Some highlights below 👇

On the cover, a new Dengue control strategy: using mosquitoes themselves to carry insecticide particles to hidden breeding sites

#IDSky

Women scientists: inspiring faces of research at the Institut Pasteur The International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025 is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on committed and talented women researchers. In addition to their scientific work, these Institut Past...

👩‍🔬 On this #WomenInScience Day 2025, we celebrate the inspiring female scientists at Institut Pasteur! More than researchers, they make science accessible to all. 🌍✨

Find out here what our scientists were recently up to : www.pasteur.fr/en/research-...

Let’s continue to amplify their voices 🚀

‘London Underground’ mosquito has surprisingly ancient origins Once thought to have evolved inside the Tube network, a tunnel-dwelling mosquito might actually have emerged thousands of years ago in Egypt.

A variety of mosquito once thought to have evolved in the tunnels of the London Underground seems to have originated alongside humans thousands of years ago in the Middle East

https://go.nature.com/3CF9I7e