Our research program investigates the sensory biology of hematophagous arthropods (e.g., mosquitoes, biting midges, and ticks), with emphasis on their chemosensory mechanisms. These arthropods rely on long-range olfactory detection to locate vertebrate hosts, followed by gustatory evaluation during proboscis penetration of skin. When harboring viral or parasitic pathogens, their blood-feeding behavior serves as a critical transmission vector for numerous diseases—including malaria, dengue fever, and Zika virus infection—which collectively account for over 600,000 annual fatalities globally.

Moreover, we are exploring new strategies to provent mosquito biting, suppress the mosquito population and/or modify mosquitoes to make them resistant to the infection of  human pathogens. We are trying to identify some novel natural compounds as mosquito repellents. Meanwhile, we adopt the gene drive tactics to build transgenic mosquitoes to suppress or genetically modify the mosquito. This translational framework ultimately aims to establish an integrated vector management paradigm, simultaneously reducing human-vector contact rates while suppressing pathogen transmission capacity in mosquito populations.