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Michael Reiskind

Associate Professor

Public Health Entomology

2310 Gardner Hall NCSU-Entomology Campus Box 7613 Raleigh, NC USA 27696-7613

919.515.0719

We study the ecology of vectors of disease, with an emphasis on mosquito 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. Dr. Reiskind is also heavily involved in teaching medical entomology and related topics, at both the graduate (ENT 582, 601/801) and undergraduate (ENT 207, 305) levels.

Research:

My research program addresses connections between arthropod ecology and the risk of infectious disease. I focus my work on the most pernicious arthropod vector, the mosquitoes, responsible for sickening or putting at risk as much as a third of the world’s population. There are several areas of mosquito ecology that I find particularly important (and interesting!). These include physiological ecology (or how the environment affects how individual mosquitoes grow, utilize resources, and reproduce), behavioral ecology (or how the environment affects how individual mosquitoes make choices, or don’t), population ecology (or how the environment causes mosquito populations to grow or shrink), and landscape ecology (or how the environment determines the pattern of mosquito species and abundance in the landscape). I am also increasingly interested in the evolutionary and genetic context into which my ecological questions fit, and am collaborating with folks with more experience in those areas.

Teaching:

I teach several classes at North Carolina State University. These include “Insects and Human Disease” (ENT 207), a classroom (fall 2013) and on-line (with Dr. Jim Harper, fall 2012) course targeted at non-majors with an interest in insects, human disease, or both. In the spring I teach ENT 305 (“Introduction to Forensic Entomology”). In the future, I may also teach “Medical and Veterinary Entomology” (ENT 582, possibly spring 2014). I consider instructing and preparing people for professional careers a core mission of universities, and my passion for teaching reflects that.
Extension:
Although I have no formal extension appointment, I am happy to talk to anyone about issues related to arthropods that affect human or animal health.

Five Most Recent Publications:

  • Reiskind, M.H. and A.A. Zarrabi. 2012. Is bigger really bigger? Differential Responses to Temperature in Measures of Body Size of the Mosquito, Aedes albopictus. Journal of Insect Physiology, 58 (7): 911-917.
  • Reiskind, M.H., A.A. Zarrabi and L.P. Lounibos. 2012. Effects of combination of leaf resources on competition in container mosquito larvae. Bulletin of Entomological Research,102 (4): 424-434.
  • K. L. Paras, S. E. Little, M. V. Reichard, M. H. Reiskind. 2012. Detection of Dirofilaria immitis and Ehrlichia spp. in coyotes, Canis latrans, from rural Oklahoma and Texas. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Disease. 12 (7): 619-621.
  • Reiskind, M.H., and A.A. Zarrabi. 2012. Water surface area and depth determine oviposition choice in Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae).Journal of Medical Entomology 49 (1): 71-76.
  • Reiskind, M. H., and A. A. Zarrabi. 2011. The importance of an invasive tree fruit as a resource for mosquito larvae. Journal of Vector Ecology 36: 197-203.

Education

AB, Biology, Amherst College (1995)
MPH, Epidemiology, The University of Michigan (1999)
Ph.D, Biology, The University of Michigan (2005)