2004 Laureate
Current Position
Group leader
Host Institution
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germnay
Levashina@mpiib-berlin.mpg.de
Anopheles mosquito by a graffiti artist in London
Elena Levashina is focusing on building on the research she developed on the role of the immune system in regulating the survival of malaria parasites in the Anopheles mosquito, the insect vector that transmits malaria to humans. She and her group now have a greater focus on the vector biology, and investigate the mosquito responses to a wide range of pathogens including bacteria and fungi, and the trade off between immunity and reproduction. The developed knowledge should inform novel intervention strategies in the fight against vector-borne diseases.
• 1994 : Ph. D. in Genetics, St-Petersbourg State University, Russia, Ludmila A. Lutova's lab, Cell selection in vitro for the development of plant stocks resistant to the phytosterol-dependent insects
• 1995-1998 : Post-doctoral fellow, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS, Strasbourg, France, Jules A. Hoffmann's lab
• 1999-2001 : Post-doctoral fellow, EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany, Fotis C. Kafatos' lab
• 2002 : Appointed Group Leader, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS, Strasbourg, France
• Jaffé Prize, Institut de France, 2011
• Elected EMBO member, 2010
• International Scholar, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2005-2010
• Research Prize, Inserm, 2008
Evidence of natural Wolbachia infections in field populations of Anopheles gambiae.
Jun 2014, Nat Commun
Mar 2009, Cell Host Microbe