Miss Charlotte Quinn
- Post Doctoral Research Associate, Vector Biology
Biography
Charlotte Quinn is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Vector Biology department at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), working within the Functional Genomics Group. She completed her PhD at LSTM in 2024, where she developed Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats based tools for functional genetics in the malaria vector anopheles funestus. Her academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in Anatomy and Human Biology from the University of Liverpool, followed by a Master’s in Reproductive and Developmental Biology at Imperial College London. In 2019, she began her Medical Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership funded PhD at LSTM and has continued her research within the institution.
Charlotte is passionate about her research and enjoys sharing it with others – including giving tours of the insectary and mosquito transgenesis suite, showcasing key facilities such as the injector station and fluorescent microscopy setup.
Research interests
Charlotte’s research in the Functional Genomics Group focuses on the genetics of the understudied malaria vector anopheles funestus. Using Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats she engineers and develops transgenic mosquito strains with specific genetic modifications to investigate key biological traits.
One aspect of her work explores genome manipulation to study insecticide resistance – particularly cases where resistance arises from a single nucleotide polymorphism. Another branch of her research involves the development of genetic control strategies to suppress mosquito populations. This includes developing gene drives, a powerful genetic editing approach that enables the spread of traits such as infertility throughout a population, ultimately leading to its suppression.
Selected research publications
CRISPR-mediated knock-in of transgenes into the malaria vector Anopheles funestus – Journal: G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics – Published: 1st August 2021
Engineered RNA-Interacting CRISPR Guide RNAs for Genetic Sensing and Diagnostics – Journal: CRISPR Journal – Published: 20th October 2020
Nuclease-based gene drives, an innovative tool for insect vector control: advantages
and challenges of the technology – Journal: Current Opinion in Insect Science – Published: 1st May 2020