https://www.sorrellslab.org/home daily 1.0 2025-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/95b883f8-e038-4fb9-8d50-287661a787c1/i-FR9KM8B-X3.jpg Home - Mosquitoes feed on a human volunteer. Photo: Alex Wild We use multidisciplinary techniques such as optogenetics, genomics, molecular biology, and machine learning to understand the behavior of mosquitoes and how blood feeding evolved. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/d8a07cfe-40d8-4149-b1a9-54befc6feb6a/45440183301_fe6c2bd15a_o.jpg Home - Scientist on a recreational trip. Photo: Zhongyan Gong We are recruiting a diverse team of researchers interested in understanding disease vectors and big questions in evolutionary neuroscience. https://www.sorrellslab.org/research daily 0.75 2023-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/07706a51-813d-4289-867d-11a96110381a/Gr4_Female6_8_green.jpg Research - Neural circuits for blood feeding Using new techniques for studying neural circuits in the mosquito, we seek to identify those that control blood feeding. These will serve as potential targets to disrupt the ability of mosquitoes to bite humans and transmit pathogens. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/cd60d4f6-9fc1-4c4b-a2ab-6f3079a33989/Screenshot+2023-12-18+at+3.39.31+PM.png Research - Evolution of cell types The brain has more cell types than any other tissue. We are using epigenomic, multiomic, and optogenetic approaches to understand the specification, function, and evolution of neuron types. This will help us identify the neurons that changed during the evolution of blood feeding and illuminate how brains evolve new functions. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/296ad770-f1a1-42b4-803e-486a14affb0b/behavior.png Research - Behavioral persistence Mosquitoes will pursue humans for up to 15 minutes after a brief sensation of our breath. The internal drives of animals over this timescale—and how they adapt to the life strategies of different species—are poorly understood. We seek to identify the mechanism for this behavioral persistence in mosquitoes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/c369b909-e470-410a-974a-12f0400725ff/Convergence.jpg Research - Convergent evolution A number of insects related to mosquitoes, such as black flies and sandflies, also possess the ability to feed on blood. We are investigating the nature of this convergence at the genomic and behavioral levels. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/211101d2-0e99-4485-a8e8-c3e06ab16c4e/malefemale.png Research - Sexual dimorphism Female mosquitoes consume blood to produce eggs whereas males lack the capacity to feed on blood. What neural circuits are responsible for this difference? https://www.sorrellslab.org/team daily 0.75 2026-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/1657374852044-J4RME89MYU901G5XUTY9/HeadshotSilhouette.png Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/f1fc3918-34c6-41d8-ba18-da5a26908d6c/IMG_1656.JPG Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/4c3290d8-d48e-46fc-bfba-6856fc37c028/IMG_1851.jpg Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/543663af-a5bf-48e5-822b-d9a05d9d7ca4/IMG_2056.JPG Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/82180116-71d9-4091-a140-3c110d769a67/Screenshot+2025-03-06+at+9.26.41+AM.jpg Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/41f31ca7-7cdb-4b62-a6aa-a572a8d4e3dc/IMG_5383+2.JPG Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/ce1d7fe9-f00f-499a-ae9b-ce652c2aac61/IMG_5365.JPG Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/7ed7a619-6ae5-4c01-b8b4-d950c38dd63e/IMG_5361.JPG Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/2dea4c5e-359c-497b-b8d1-588613dd065b/IMG_5374.png Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/d3975deb-ea95-43bc-967e-cdcc2cbdaa0c/IMG_5423.JPG Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/124d31a1-e100-4c44-bdaf-e18642d70ff1/IMG_5459.JPG Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/2d7cbbab-b2a5-4a61-9f1e-97825347b3e6/IMG_5481.JPG Team https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/98f7bb5c-c47a-4e94-ba7c-2fd89d78aed7/IMG_5452+2.JPG Team https://www.sorrellslab.org/values daily 0.75 2025-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/1657805696228-ZYRT53HZM6Q9XHA6VYLR/IMG_1962.jpg Values https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/1657805722960-PW8O7MQBDY590X1JM65X/IMG_4161.jpg Values https://www.sorrellslab.org/contact daily 0.75 2022-07-18 https://www.sorrellslab.org/publications daily 0.75 2025-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/96db3685-851b-41fa-ba07-885f8acfb3b6/MCA.png Publications - A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito Goldman O.V., DeFoe A.E., Qi Y., Jiao Y., Weng S.-C., Wick B., Houri-Zeevi L., Lakhiani P., Morita T., Razzauti J., Rosas-Villegas A., Tsitohay Y.N., Walker M.M., Hopkins B.R., Mosquito Cell Atlas Consortium, Akbari O.S., Duvall L.B., White-Cooper H., Sorrells T.R., Sharma R., Li H., Vosshall L.B., Shai N. (2025) Cell https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.10.008 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/b3921da3-025c-4e72-b3be-87c98a4f8f6f/Primer_v2.png Publications - Glial cells diverge in fly brain evolution Jiao, Y., and Sorrells, T.R. (2025). Glial cells diverge in fly brain evolution. PLOS Biol. 23, e3003136. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003136. (primer article) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/2a94ce53-3689-465b-8ada-b49a4c78aa4b/PersistentState.png Publications - A persistent behavioral state ensures sustained predation of humans by mosquitoes Sorrells, T.R., Pandey, A., Rosas, A., Vosshall, L.B. (2022) eLife 11:e76663 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.76663 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/05dfd40c-3eef-441c-af9a-aece34497ee8/VeronicaPaper.png Publications - Sensory discrimination of blood and floral nectar by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Jové V., Gong, Z., Hol, F., Zhao, Z., Sorrells, T.R., Carroll, T.S., Prakash, M., McBride, C.S., and Vosshall, L.B. (2020) Neuron 108(6), 1163-1180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.09.019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/2112de59-78a0-4304-bbcd-0cc9e8e6c60b/CandacePaper.png Publications - Protein-coding changes preceded cis-regulatory gains in a newly evolved transcription circuit. Britton, C. S., Sorrells, T.R., & Johnson, A. D. (2020). Science 367(6473), 96–100. http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax5217 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/ccc94151-6114-4150-ac0c-c798c467d713/RPPaper.png Publications - Intrinsic cooperativity potentiates parallel cis-regulatory evolution. Sorrells, T.R., Johnson, A.N., Howard, C.J., Britton, C.S., Fowler, K.R., Feigerle, J.T., Weil, A.P., Johnson, A.D. (2018) eLife 7, 1881. 10.7554/eLife.37563 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/cad5a001-177f-4d33-8dae-c6b40abe9815/Ste12Paper.png Publications - Intersecting transcription networks constrain gene regulatory evolution Sorrells, T.R., Booth, L.N., Tuch, B.B., Johnson, A.D. (2015) Intersecting transcription networks constrain gene regulatory evolution. Nature 523:361-365. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62b9f05ba2952e264445f1ca/366d28f8-210b-43f2-8e80-5d2674e6803a/MakingSense.png Publications - Making sense of transcription networks Sorrells, T.R., Johnson, A.D. (2015) Cell 161(4):714-723. (review article)