Michael Reiskind

Bio

Dr. Michael Reiskind was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, where he quickly learned to love swamps and their denizens (go ahead, ask him about lighting swamp gas on fire as a pyromaniac tween). He then went off to college, where he studied biology, culminating in independent research on the evolution of infectious disease. This led him to a Master’s of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan, with a research thesis on dengue in Peru. His experience working with vector-borne disease led him back into biology to study the ecology of mosquitoes, completing a PhD in Biology from the University of Michigan in 2005. He continued his focus on mosquito ecology as a Post-doctoral Associated at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory from 2005-2008, then took a tenure-track position at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater. In 2012 he moved to NC State, being granted tenure in 2018 and promotion to his current position. Outside of his academic career he is a family member (playing the role of husband/father to three), passionate Ultimate afficianado (disc, not fighting), chaotic gardener, and lover of fine food and drink.

In the Reiskind lab, we study the ecology of vectors of disease, with an emphasis on mosquito and tick ecology. We have worked extensively on the container Aedes mosquitoes responsible for dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus transmission, with investigations spanning scales of inquiry from the regional population genetics to individual behavior. We are also interested in patterns of mosquito diversity and the consequences of vector diversity for disease transmission, using dog heartworm disease as a convenient study system.  We also tackle questions of tick-borne disease, tick distribution and phenology in North Carolina and further afield.  Dr. Reiskind is heavily involved in teaching medical entomology and related topics, at both the graduate (ENT 582, 601/801) and undergraduate (ENT 207, 305) levels, and he advises graduate and undergraduate students in research.

Area(s) of Expertise

Public Health Entomology

Publications

• Rickettsia africae infections in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review of epidemiological studies and summary of case reports , TROPICAL MEDICINE & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH (2024)
• Diverse migratory strategies for a hawksbill sea turtle population , AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS (2024)
• Don't go chasing waterfalls: the phenology of Amblyomma americanum and increased collection of medically relevant ticks further away from hiking trails in the Piedmont of North Carolina, USA , JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY (2024)
• Microbiome of Invasive Tick Species Haemaphysalis Longicornis in North Carolina, USA , INSECTS (2024)
• New report of Haemaphysalis longicornis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in Mecklenburg County, Virginia from field collections , JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY (2024)
• Exploring the effects of caffeine on Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) survival and fecundity , JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY (2023)
• Phylogenomics reveals the history of host use in mosquitoes , NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2023)
• Brief Review of Japanese Encephalitis Virus: Recommendations Related to North Carolina Swine Farms and Wider Implications for Swine Farming , Parasitologia (2022)
• Effectiveness of autocidal gravid trapping and chemical control in altering abundance and age structure of Aedes albopictus , PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (2022)
• Life-history stage and the population genetics of the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus at a fine spatial scale , MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY (2022)

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