Kerri Coon

Kerri Coon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on insect-microbe interactions, particularly in mosquitoes and their gut microbiota, with applications to vector-borne disease control. She joined UW-Madison in 2019, previously working at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Georgia.

Education:

• B.Sc. (Biology/Biostatistics), University of Virginia, 2011
• Ph.D. (Entomology), University of Georgia, 2017
• Postdoctoral Research, University of Texas at Austin

Research Interests: Her lab investigates how microbial communities influence mosquito physiology, development, and disease transmission. Key areas include microbiome assembly, host-microbe symbiosis, and the ecological roles of microbial diversity in vector systems. Techniques employed include field studies, gnotobiotic models, and bioinformatics.

Publications: Recent work explores microbiota-cryopreservation methods, stable fly pathogen carriage, and microbiome transplantation effects in mosquitoes. Themes emphasize microbial contributions to host traits and disease dynamics.

Awards:

• HHMI Gilliam Fellowship Program Support (2023)
• UW WARF Microbiome Accelerator Challenge Funding (2023)

Advising & Grants: Supervises graduate students in microbiology, entomology, and genetics. Active in mentoring and diversity initiatives, including the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Vector Biology & Microbiology Lab, collaborating on projects like the Mosquito-Associated Isolate Collection (MosAIC) to curate high-quality bacterial genomes for research.