Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Yuemei Dong, PhD, studies the molecular mechanisms of pathogen-mosquito interactions and pioneers innovative strategies for controlling vector-borne diseases.
Contact Info
Research Interests
Vector-borne diseases, host-pathogen interactions, mosquito innate immunity, cross-talk of immune pathways, insect transgenesis, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing, gene drive, mosquito microbiota, mosquito population replacement strategies for vector control, microbiota-based vector control strategy development.
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
Dr. Dong’s research centers on unraveling the molecular mechanisms that drive the mosquito's innate immune system's anti-Plasmodium and anti-viral defenses. Her extensive experience has strengthened her commitment to translating fundamental scientific discoveries into practical applications for controlling and combating vector-borne diseases. Dr. Dong investigates the role of the RNA interference (RNAi) immune pathway in Aedes mosquitoes' antiviral defenses and explores immune crosstalk between RNAi and other innate immune pathways, including Toll, IMD, and JAK-STAT.
Leveraging CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing techniques, she has successfully generated Anopheles knockout mosquitoes to study the functions of key Plasmodium host factors, such as FREP1, Prefoldin, and salivary gland-specific proteins 1 and 2. Building on advanced insect transformation technologies, she has developed genetic tools and engineered mosquitoes with gene-drive technology for malaria control. In collaboration with scientists from malaria-endemic countries, she is working to develop innovative vector control strategies, including biopesticides for ATSB and field-deployable diagnostic tools, aiming for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to vector control.
Dr. Dong’s research also extends to the role of mosquito gut microbiota in anti-Plasmodium and anti-viral defenses, further elucidating the intricate interactions between mosquito immunity and pathogen transmission. As a leading researcher in mosquito microbiota, she laid the foundation for this field with her 2009 publication in PLoS Pathogens, which sparked broad interest in mosquito-microbiota research. Lately, her research has focused on the mechanisms of mosquito leaky gut and its impact on malaria transmission in mosquito vectors. Her work continues to advance our understanding of vector-pathogen interactions and contributes to the development of cutting-edge vector control strategies.
Select Publications
Most recent publications and some with highest impact factors
(Total citations: 9220, h-index: 38, i10-index: 59, see full list from Google Scholar)
Dong, Y., Kang. S., Sandiford, S., Pike, A., Ubalee, R., Koblinsky, K, Dimopoulos, G. (2025) Targeting the mosquito prefoldin chaperonin complex blocks Plasmodium transmission. (2025) Nat Microbiol, in press
Carballar-Lejarazu*, R., Dong*, Y., Pham, T. B., Tushar, T., Corder, R. M., Mondal, A., et al. (2023) Dual effector population modification gene-drive strains of the African malaria mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 120, e2221118120. (*: equal contributions)
Dong, Y.*, Dong, S.*, Dizaji, N. B., Rutkowski, N., Pohlenz, T., Myles., K., and Dimopoulos, G. (2022) The Aedes aegypti siRNA pathway mediates broad-spectrum defense against human pathogenic viruses and modulates antibacterial and antifungal defenses. PLoS Biol. 20 (6), e3001668. (*: equal contributions)
Dong, Y., Simoes, M. L., and Dimopoulos, G. (2020) Versatile transgenic multistage effector-gene combinations for Plasmodium falciparum suppression in Anopheles, Sci Adv 6, eaay5898.
Dong, Y., Simões, M. L., Marois, E., and Dimopoulos, G. (2018) CRISPR/Cas9 -mediated gene knockout of Anopheles gambiae FREP1 suppresses malaria parasite infection, PLoS Pathog 14(3): e1006898.
Pike, A., Dong, Y.*, Borhani-Dizaji, N.*, Gacita, A., Mongodin, E. F., and Dimopoulos, G. (2017) Changes in the microbiota cause genetically modified Anopheles to spread into a population, Science 6358: 1396-1399. (*: equal contributions)
Dong, Y., Cirimotich, C. M., Pike, A., Chandra, R., and Dimopoulos, G. (2012) Anopheles NF- kappaB-regulated splicing factors direct pathogen-specific repertoires of the hypervariable pattern recognition receptor AgDscam, Cell Host Microbe 12: 521-530.
Dong, Y.*, Das, S.*, Cirimotich, C., Souza-Neto, J. A., McLean, K. J., and Dimopoulos, G. (2011) Engineered Anopheles immunity to Plasmodium infection, PLoS Pathog 7: e1002458.
Cirimotich, C. M., Dong, Y., Clayton, A. M., Sandiford, S. L., Souza-Neto, J. A., Mulenga, M., and Dimopoulos, G. (2011) Natural microbe-mediated refractoriness to Plasmodium infection in Anopheles gambiae, Science 332: 855-858.
Dong, Y., Manfredini, F., and Dimopoulos, G. (2009) Implication of the mosquito midgut microbiota in the defense against malaria parasites, PLoS Pathog 5: e1000423.
Dong, Y., Aguilar, R., Xi, Z., Warr, E., Mongin, E., and Dimopoulos, G. (2006) Anopheles gambiae immune responses to human and rodent Plasmodium parasite species, PLoS Pathog 2: e52.
Dong, Y., Taylor, H. E., and Dimopoulos, G. (2006) AgDscam, a hypervariable immunoglobulin domain-containing receptor of the Anopheles gambiae innate immune system, PLoS Biol 4: e229.
Dong, Y., Glasner, J. D., Blattner, F. R., and Triplett, E. W. (2001) Genomic interspecies microarray hybridization: rapid discovery of three thousand genes in the maize endophyte, Klebsiella pneumoniae 342, by microarray hybridization with Escherichia coli K-12 open reading frames, Appl Environ Microbiol 67: 1911-1921.