Student NameNicole Abruzzo
Faculty Mentor NameDr. Phillip Kaufman
CollegeCollege of Agricultural and Life Sciences
MajorWildlife Ecology and Conservation
MinorEntomology and Nematology
Research InterestsMedical and Veterinary Entomology
Academic AwardsJennings Scholarship, Eugene Chester Terzenbach Memorial Scholarship, Emerging Scholars Scholarship, and the Florida Academic Scholars Scholarship
Hobbies and InterestsKnitting and jogging

Research Project

Detecting Dog Heartworm in Competent Mosquito Vectors: Techniques and Applications in North Central Florida Mosquitoes

With mosquitoes collected in the summer of 2018 and identified to species, I will develop and utilize a dissection technique to determine the prevalence of heartworm in competent mosquito vectors. I will develop a dissection technique with infective stage mosquitoes purchased from a lab. Next, I will identify individuals positive for heartworm including potential new vector species with qPCR. Species of interest will include those identified as competent vectors in our previous paper that has be completed and submitted for publishing.