Kristin Sloyer, PhD, MS researches the ecology and behavior of insects of medical and veterinary importance. She has expertise in surveillance and identification methods for black fly, biting midges (Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides spp.), and mosquitoes. Dr. Sloyer completed her MS and PhD in the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida/Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory. Her master’s degree focused on surveillance of potential Culicoides spp. vectors of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHDV) and bluetongue viruses in white-tailed deer in Florida. During her work in this system, Dr. Sloyer and collaborators elucidated two potential vectors of EHDV in Florida by collecting infected midges from the field; used ecological niche models to determine the potential distribution of vector species; determined host-associations of Culicoides spp. via PCR-based blood meal analysis; and developed a novel, motion-activated trap to collect mosquitoes actively host-seeking from white-tailed deer. For her doctoral dissertation, Dr. Sloyer conducted field studies on the ecology of Culex (Melanoconion) mosquito vectors of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) subtypes ID and II. She tested novel traps and sampling devices against traditional methods for the collection of native and invasive mosquito vectors of VEEV in Florida, USA, and Darien, Panama, and performed blood meal analysis to determine the host-associations of Culex panocossa – a newly introduced vector species in south Florida – to help elucidate its potential role in the transmission of the endemic VEEV subtype, Everglades virus (EVEV) in Florida. She used bloodmeal analysis to determine the vector-host interactions of the endemic EVEV vector, Culex cedecei, and used ecological niche models to predict the impact of habitat and environmental variables on potential VEEV transmission in Florida. She joined the University of Texas Medical Branch in June 2023 as a postdoctoral scholar focused on the CREATE-NEO program. She will conduct field research in the Brazilian Pantanal on mosquito-borne arboviruses and their potential for spillover, in collaboration with Dr. Daniel Aguiar at the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso.

Email: kesloyer@utmb.edu