Department of Biology

Justin R. Anderson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Chair

My lab traditionally works on projects related to virus transmission by mosquitoes. If you're interested in joining the lab, contact me.

Project: EDCs

Project: Phenazines

Project: Beer bugs

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals

These chemicals (EDCs for short) are used in making plastics, in food preservation, and in other processes and functionally mimic hormones. This project is investigating how mosquitoes develop in the presence of EDCs and whether such exposure affects their ability to transmit La Crosse virus. This is a collaborative project with Dr. Sara O'Brien, whose lab is studying EDC effects on mosquitofish development. Together, we also aim to look at how such environmental contaminants might affect predator-prey relationships.

Phenazine antivirals & mosquitocidals

Phenazines are cyclic molecules produced by bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas and others. These compounds have been shown to possess antibacterial activity, and some have possible antiviral properties. Our goal is to investigate whether phenazines might interfere with La Crosse virus replication in cultured cells and whether they can kill developing mosquito larvae. We have worked with Dr. Chris Monceaux in the Department of Chemistry, whose lab has synthesized phenazines for our antiviral testing.

Brewery contaminants

The objective of this project is to isolate and characterize bacteria and yeasts that potentially contaminate and spoil beer during the brewing process. We are currently focusing on bacteria of the genera Lactobacillus and Pediococcus to determine their sensitivities to brewery sanitizers and to isolate and characterize endogenous bacteriophages (viruses).

Contact

Center for the Sciences 281 • 540.831.5817 • janderson152@radford.edu