P.S. Despite how much Trends in Parasitology believes in me, I am not yet Dr. Nichols! I’ll be defending in Spring, and I am looking for a postdoctoral position starting in Fall 2026. Reach out if you’re hiring in the fields of microbiology, symbiosis, or medical entomology! (4/4)

Finally, we highlight recent advances in manipulating mosquito microbiota in the laboratory and suggest that transplanting wild-caught mosquito microbiota into lab mosquitoes can ensure that novel strategies are robust to microbiota found in wild populations! (3/4)

First, we describe how bacteria spread within mosquito populations. Then, how do bacteria colonize and persist in the gut? We discuss how biofilms, motility, toxin production, and stress tolerance are understudied in mosquitoes but vital for understanding what makes bacteria successful. (2/4)