LSTM’s Mosquito Diaries at the Manchester Science Festival 2016

The exhibition, entitled: The Mosquito Diaries – keeping the bloodsuckers out of bed is led by Vector Biology Dr Josie Parker and LSTM’s Engaging Tools for Communication in Health (ETCH) team’s Ms Charlotte Hemingway. It involves their work along with that of Josie’s supervisor, Dr Philip McCall, and ETCH team’s Dr Marlize Coleman, Dr Edward Thomsen and colleagues from the University of Warwick.  The exhibit was showcased at Liverpool’s LightNight festival and at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London during the summer.

Through a range of interactive hands-on activities and computer games the exhibit demonstrates three key messages to the public: mosquitoes transmit malaria; insecticide treated bednets protect against malaria transmission; and insecticide resistance threatens mosquito control efforts. In particular, the team will demonstrate Dr Josie Parker’s research utilising new technology to track the flight of individual mosquitoes and how they interact with a long lasting insecticide treated bednets. 

The new 2D tracking system, developed in partnership with the University of Warwick, offers the first real insight into mosquito behaviour in this way, enabling the team to track mosquito flight on a large scale in controlled conditions. In addition, the ETCH team will also demonstrate how their serious gaming work can communicate the complexities behind large-scale malaria control programmes and insecticide resistance management.

LSTM’s Public Engagement Manager, Dr Elli Wright, commented: “Exhibiting at the Manchester Science Festival is a fantastic opportunity for LSTM and its researchers, ensuring that people outside the organisation get to understand a little more about the fantastic, life-saving research that we undertake.” 

For more information about Mosquito Dairies at the Museum of Science and Industry, please visit our events pages.