Amanda Callaghan

Amanda Callaghan is a Professor of Invertebrate Zoology at the University of Reading, where she serves as Curator of the Cole Museum of Zoology and School Director of Recruitment and Admissions. Her academic work spans teaching, research, and museum curation, with a focus on entomology and invertebrate zoology.

Professor Callaghan's research interests primarily center around mosquito ecology and vector control, microplastics research in freshwater ecosystems, and museum specimen conservation. Her work has significant implications for public health, environmental management, and biodiversity conservation. She leads research projects on British mosquito ecology and control in collaboration with Public Health England, and British mosquito population modeling with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on trends in vector ecology and environmental toxicology. Callaghan's work examines the intersection of environmental change, pollution (particularly microplastics), and vector-borne disease transmission. She has pioneered research on using natural predators for mosquito control and investigated how environmental factors influence mosquito behavior and population dynamics.

Among her scientific honors, Callaghan is a:

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology
• Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society
• Commonwealth Commission Postgraduate Scholarship Advisor

She has also served as former editor of Antenna, the bulletin of the Royal Entomological Society.

In terms of advising and research support, Professor Callaghan has supervised numerous PhD students over her career, both at the University of Reading and through collaborations with other institutions including the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and Public Health England. Her current PhD students include Daniel Smith, Alex Vaux, and Claire Smith. She has received funding from various sources including NERC, Public Health England, and self-funding arrangements.

Professor Callaghan is actively involved with the Cole Museum of Zoology, where she serves as Curator. She also engages in significant outreach activities, including media interviews on mosquito research and co-authoring the popular science booklets "Garden Entomology" for the Royal Entomological Society. Her international collaborations include researchers from South Africa, Nigeria, and the United States, while her national collaborations involve scientists from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Queens University Belfast, and Public Health England.