Affiliation: Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Dr. Dong has over 16 years’ experience with molecular entomology of multiple mosquito species, and more than 25 years experience in molecular characterization of host-microbe interactions. Her current research interests focus on dissecting the molecular mechanisms of both anti-Plasmodium and anti-viral defenses of the mosquito immune system, and the interaction between pathogens, mosquito immune systems, and mosquito microbiota. Using biochemical, cellular biology, molecular biology, functional genomics, and more advanced insect transgenesis and genome editing techniques she has functionally dissected the interaction between Plasmodium parasites and Dengue/ Zika viruses with Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes, respectively. These experiences have cemented Dr. Dong’s desire to apply the findings from basic research to potential application in controlling and combating vector-borne infectious diseases. Dr. Dong received her BS in biology from Peking University (known as Beida) which is a major research university and a member of the elite C9 League of Chinese universities. She earned her PhD in 1999 from the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), where she worked on the plant-microbe interactions. Her academic education then continued at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she joined Dr. Triplett’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow working on molecular characterization of plant-microbe interactions and plant innate immune system. Driven by her strong interest in the vector-borne infectious diseases, in 2003 she joined the Malaria Research Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (JHSPH) working with Dr. Dimopoulos initially as a postdoctoral fellow, and now she is a faculty research associate at JHSPH.