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Ben Matthews

@benmatthewslab.bsky.social
860 followers 753 following 11 posts

Mosquito Lab @ UBC; Vancouver, Canada mosquitolab.zoology.ubc.ca

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Sweta Agrawal @hokuba.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Agrawal lab has published its first paper! "Sticking the landing: leg mechanosensory feedback coordinates the transition from flight to landing" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... This project was led by a technician in the lab, Tse-Wei (Wayne) Kuo. Brief 🧵on what we found
agrawal-lab-workspace.slack.com
Slack
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Reposted by Ben Matthews
callista yee @csybio.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
hiiii everyone! my department @zoology.ubc.ca is hiring an assistant professor in cell and developmental biology! deadline is october 1! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32408 // please share!!!!!
academicjobsonline.org
University of British Columbia, Department of Zoology
Job #AJO32408, Assistant Professor in Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
We are stoked to continue working with Aedes togoi in the lab, and are already taking baby steps towards making them genetically accessible. Ultimately, we hope to better understand what they have that so many other insects do not - an ability to survive the sea.
images of wild-type and CRISPR-edited Aedes togoi mosquitoes at the adult and pupal stages. kmo mutant mosquitoes exhibit markedly reduced pigment in the cuticle and eyes.
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Not content with just a genome, dream collaborators Andrea Durant and Elissa Khodikian (UW) dissected hundreds of 'salt glands' from the anal canals of Aedes togoi larvae to provide molecular insight into how these unique anatomical structures allow Aedes togoi to secrete salts and survive the sea
diagram of the rectum, anal canal, and anal papillae of an Aedes togoi mosquito larva, paired with a photo of a larva with its siphon at the surface of the water. the exaggerated anal canal can be clearly seen
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
from totally fresh to 300% the salinity of seawater, from heat domes to frozen pools, Aedes togoi survive it all. M.Sc. student Jonathan Chiang spearheaded the creation of a genome assembly for the coastal rock pool mosquito Aedes togoi with former lab members Dan Peach, Orna Phelan, and Ana Parra.
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
2. Living by the sea: chromosome-scale genome assembly and salt gland transcriptomes provide insights into ion regulatory mechanisms in the saline-tolerant mosquito Aedes togoi. A long time coming, our new favourite mosquito has a genome (and more)! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
adult Aedes togoi emerging from a pupal case on the surface of the water of a coastal rock poolA view of Aedes togoi mosquito habitat on the coast of the Pacific Ocean: larvae and pupae can be found in rock pools at Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver, looking back over the water towards the University of British Columbia campus
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Huge shout out to Aleks (then an undergraduate Honours student), who along with Lauren Semkow, Annie Zeng, and Nick Tochor, has set the stage for what is now a major thrust of the lab - examining the molecular, cellular, and behavioural role of mechanosensory cues in guiding mosquito behaviour.
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
1. Surface texture guides egg-laying decisions in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Inspired by all who notice mosquitoes laying eggs on grooves and ridges, Aleksandra Anoshina invented an assay to show that Aedes aegypti prefer rough surfaces... unless they're salty www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Data and representative images showing the results of two-choice behavioural assays where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes demonstrate a clear preference for laying eggs on rough surfaces
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Hello from Vancouver! Dusting off the bsky credentials to highlight two new mosquito preprints from the lab... extremely proud of everyone who contributed and happy to have their work out for all to see. Lots of good stuff happening in the lab these days! More below...
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Sweta Agrawal @hokuba.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
The Agrawal lab is moving! This January we will be setting up shop at #UBC in Vancouver, in the department of #Zoology! We are actively recruiting at all levels, especially masters and PhD students. These position are #funded! Please send anyone interested my way!
Agrawal lab logo. A fly in the UBC colors, with dots framing its body.
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
So cool… congrats Leah and team!
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bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Mosquito Cell Atlas: A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
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mara lawniczak @marakat.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
globally, there are ~3500 described mosquito species in the Culicidae family and many of these are important vectors of disease but only a small percentage have genomic resources. we are launching a pilot project to generate high quality reference genomes for 100 important mosquito species [1/3]
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
happy to hear everyone and your pad in Sierra Madre is OK - but sorry I won't get that tour of Chaney in its original state... take care, mate
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Chloé Lahondère @lahonderelab.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
I created a starter pack highlighting Women in the field of Disease Vector Biology and Ecology: go.bsky.app/E7wuQus Please share and let me know if you’d like to be added! 🦟🦠🪰
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Mosquitoes: the photo gallery. I feel better about posting this in the off-season, for some reason (*scratches*)
alexanderwild.com
Mosquitoes - Alex Wild
Mosquitoes comprise a large family, Culicidae, of slender, scale-covered flies found worldwide. We think of mosquitoes as voracious blood-feeders, but the primary food of adult mosquitoes is actually ...
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Katie Marshall @kemarshall.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
Congratulations to newly- minted UBC Zoology PhD graduate Dr. Jarrett Blair!
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Rory Coleman @rorycoleman.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Sharing my new paper again since moving from the other place 🙂 We shed light on some of the most rapidly evolving animal behaviors—those surrounding mating.
nature.com
A modular circuit coordinates the diversification of courtship strategies - Nature
Peripheral and central circuit adaptations can be flexibly coordinated in Drosophila, and such a modular circuit organization may facilitate the evolution of mate recognition systems by allowing novel...
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John Soghigian @jsoghigian.bsky.social · 07/10/2023
Exciting for this to finally be online! Was a privilege to be part of such a great international team. Excellent phylogenetic comparative work by @genmorinaga.bsky.social to cap it all off!
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 03/10/2023
dinner at Judith's!
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Ben Matthews @benmatthewslab.bsky.social · 03/09/2023
I had a great visit / thanks for your hospitality!
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Reposted by Ben Matthews
John Soghigian @jsoghigian.bsky.social · 03/09/2023
Had a great time hosting @benmatthewslab.bsky.social at UCVM! A great seminar and excellent conversations. Thanks for helping us launch our new Comparative Biology and Animal Health seminar series!
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