Christopher M. Barker

Comparative fitness of reemerging St. Louis encephalitis virus in vertebrate and mosquito cells, Culex tarsalis and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes, and mice

This study compares the fitness of contemporary and historical St. Louis encephalitis virus strains in vertebrate and mosquito cells, finding some contemporary strains exhibit equal or greater fitness.

Human iPSC-derived neurons identify West Nile virus neuropathogenesis signatures and reveal strain-dependent neuroattenuation

The paper uses human iPSC-derived neurons to study WNV effects, identifying strain-specific neuroattenuation and pathogenic signatures not seen in conventional cell lines.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of Arizona West Nile virus vectors, Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tarsalis

The paper reports the first complete mitochondrial genomes of two West Nile virus vectors in Arizona using long-read sequencing and presents a novel method for obtaining full-length mitogenomes.

Evaluation of the safety and insecticidal efficacy of ivermectin-treated bird feed formulations in different avian species

This study evaluates the safety and insecticidal efficacy of ivermectin-treated bird feed in avian species to control West Nile virus vectors.

Whole genome assembly of Culex tarsalis

The paper assembles and annotates a reference genome for Culex tarsalis, identifies genetic clusters, and estimates divergence time from Culex quinquefasciatus.