ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Lindsay Martin is an author on ‘ Senescence of humoral antimicrobial immunity occurs in infected mosquitoes when the temperature is higher’, published in JEB. Lindsay is a graduate student in the lab of Julián Hillyer at Vanderbilt University, USA, investigating how warming environmental temperature alters mosquito aging and immunity, and how warmer temperature and aging interact together to modify the mosquito's ability to fight an infection.
Lindsay Martin
How did you become interested in biology?
Like many kids, I initially wanted to be a veterinarian, but as I got older, I soon learned there was a much bigger world of science, and this sparked my interest in biology. In high school, I wanted to participate in the county science fair. Seeing lots of crabs on the beaches of Florida, I became interested in crab antimicrobial peptides and how they could be used to improve antibiotics for human health. I soon learned that insects also have antimicrobial peptides, and that working with insects would be a lot easier than working with crabs. I reached out to a scientist at a local USDA lab with questions about my science fair project, and in doing so, I gained an incredible mentor, Dr Paul Shirk, who helped me discover my love of science. I worked in Dr Shirk's lab to conduct experiments on insect antimicrobial peptides for my science fair project, and I even went to the international science and engineering fair that year! Through my early research experiences in high school, I gained a profound appreciation for science and the impact that research can have on the world.
Describe your scientific journey and your current research focus
From my high school experiences, I knew I wanted to do research in college. When I enrolled at University of Central Florida (UCF) for my undergraduate studies, I began working in Dr Ken Fedorka's lab, where I investigated how a warmer environment affects transmission of Citrus Greening Disease by citrus crop pests. This project sparked my interest in disease ecology, and as our lab started working with mosquitoes, I studied how agricultural herbicides alter mosquito life history traits and immune function. I became passionate about working with mosquitoes and understanding factors that affect disease transmission, so I did a summer research internship at the National Institutes of Health in Dr Eric Calvo's lab to further explore these research interests. From these experiences, I knew I wanted to be a scientist and pursue a PhD.
After graduating from UCF with my B.S. in Biomedical Science, I enrolled in the Biological Sciences PhD program at Vanderbilt University. Under the mentorship of Dr Julián Hillyer, I am researching how warmer temperature alters mosquito physiology, including their rate of aging and immune function. Importantly, my research aims to identify whether warmer environmental temperatures accelerate mosquito aging, and whether this hastens the weakening of their immune response to infection. Given the impact that mosquitoes have on human health, it is critical to identify how a warming world will impact mosquito-borne disease risk.
How would you explain the main findings of your paper to a member of the public?
Just like when humans get sick and mount an immune response, mosquitoes mount a variety of immune responses when they become infected, including producing antimicrobial molecules that directly kill pathogens. Their ability to fight an infection is influenced by many factors, such as aging and the temperature of their environment. Here, we set out to identify how warmer temperature and aging come together to shape their antimicrobial response to infection. We found that a mosquito's antimicrobial response increases when they are infected, but the strength of this immune response weakens as the temperature warms. Importantly, we discovered that the strength of the antimicrobial response levels off with older age, but higher temperatures cause an aging-dependent weakening of the antimicrobial response. Altogether, we show in mosquitoes that higher temperatures, simulating climate change, can accelerate a weakening of immunity with aging, likely altering their ability to host and transmit diseases.
Image of three segments of a mosquito abdomen, containing dark deposits of melanin where the immune system has been.
What do you enjoy most about research, and why?
I really enjoy the fact that I am always learning! I love figuring out how all the pieces of a story come together and seeing new scientific insights! Each experiment and data hold a piece of the puzzle. The puzzle pieces come together to form a story, which fits into the bigger context of the field of study. More so, I really enjoy mentoring students and collaborating with others to help bring bigger ideas to fruition. I have mentored two undergraduate students and a high school student in the lab, and it's so rewarding to see them learn new things and become excited about science!
What is the most important piece of equipment for your research?
The walk-in environmental chambers where we rear our mosquitoes are essential! Each chamber allows us to rear mosquitoes at a specific temperature, level of humidity, and lighting cycle to simulate conditions that they would experience in nature, including a range of temperatures. Without these walk-in chambers, we would be unable to rear mosquitoes at the large scale needed for our experiments. These chambers have allowed our lab address questions about how mosquitoes reared at a warm temperature differ from those reared at a cool temperature.
What is the most important lesson that you have learned from your career so far?
Being passionate about something will take you very far! Having passion for your field and the questions you are pursuing will help you troubleshoot through the bumpy road that one encounters in the pursuit of scientific discoveries.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to play fetch with my dog and run in the neighborhood. My family and friends have truly been a wonderful support system during my PhD, and I love spending time with them whenever I get the chance.
Lindsay Martin's contact details: Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
E-mail: [email protected]
