Victoria Colin, a senior undergraduate researcher majoring in Biology, submitted an application to graduate with research distinction. Her project will investigate the genes that are produced in mosquito spermathecae (shown below), which are specialized structures that allow female insects to store sperm for extended periods of time.

Specifically, her project will determine whether  female mosquitoes that are reared in winter-like conditions create more proteins to promote sperm storage than female mosquitoes that are reared in summer-like conditions. She plans to defend her research thesis in the spring and present the results of this project at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.