Solving Mosquito Mysteries
When senior Omnia Mansour was young, she watched her father’s work researching mosquitoes in his lab.
“Growing up, I always went to his lab so I was always interested in mosquitoes and parasitology,” Mansour said.
Thus, it was no surprise when she based her research project on the effectiveness of livestock mosquito sprays over time for the National FFA Agriscience Fair. It took her three weeks to determine that her research project would be about insecticide effectiveness.
After choosing what to research, it was time for her to get to work.
Cedar Shoals High School Agricultural Science teacher Julie Throne contacted the University of Georgia’s Department of Entomology, which provided Mansour the live mosquitoes she needed for the data portion of her project.
“I was able to secure her all the materials that she needed, including the live mosquitoes, which was very difficult because you don’t just go out and catch mosquitoes,” Throne said.
Mansour’s daily data collection process consisted of putting mosquitoes in insecticide coated bottles and documenting how quickly they died. She compared the time of death for hundreds of mosquitoes to determine which insecticide was the most effective.
“You don’t think about those types of insects,” Throne said. “But because mosquitoes affect the health of animals and people, it’s very relevant.”
Months after submitting her project and completing an interview with the judges, Mansour found out she was a finalist alongside 29 others in the FFA Agriscience Fair Competition. She was invited to compete in person at the National FFA Convention & Expo, showcasing her work and competing for top awards.
“It feels really good. This is the first time in high school that I feel very proud of myself,” Mansour said.
Mansour’s authentic, first-of-its-kind research wowed the judges. Her research aims to help livestock producers better protect animals from the multiple diseases mosquitoes carry, but it could also help better protect humans too. After high school, Mansour strives to work on and study disease.
“It’s so important to continue studying mosquitoes,” Mansour said. “I feel like mosquitoes are very invasive for not only livestock, but humans too, (the diseases they carry) are very detrimental.”
