معرفی
Dr. Angela Meccariello is a Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, affiliated with the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Her research focuses on developing genetic strategies to control agricultural pests, particularly the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) and olive fruit fly. She leads studies on CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing, gene drive systems, and sex determination mechanisms to improve sterile insect techniques (SIT) for pest management.
Dr. Meccariello completed her PhD under Prof. Giuseppe Saccone, identifying key genes like MoY in medfly sex determination. During her postdoc in Nikolai Windbichler’s lab, she established CRISPR systems for medfly germline editing and obtained regulatory licenses for pest research. She currently holds an Imperial College Research Fellowship (ICRF2020), supporting work on scalable genetic pest control methods.
Her research spans genetics, molecular biology, and synthetic biology, with applications in agriculture and environmental science. Key areas include CRISPR applications, sex ratio distortion, and gene drive development. Her lab collaborates with institutions globally to advance sustainable pest control solutions.
Notable achievements include pioneering DNA-free genome editing in medfly and discovering MoY’s role in male sex determination across fruit flies. She has published extensively on insect genetics and CRISPR tools, contributing to both academic and applied pest management fields.
Dr. Meccariello’s work aligns with Imperial College’s focus on translational research, bridging basic science and real-world agricultural challenges. She actively participates in initiatives to monitor invasive species and improve pest control strategies through innovative biotechnological approaches.
