Philip Armstrong

Dr. Armstrong earned his undergraduate degree in biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz and his doctoral degree at the Harvard School of Public Health. He joined the faculty at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in 2004 to participate in the statewide mosquito surveillance program and develop his own research program on arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). Current research focuses on the molecular evolution and ecology of mosquito- and tick-borne viruses transmitted in the northeastern U.S., including eastern equine encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, and Powassan virus.Genetic relationships of these viruses are compared to track the origin, spread, and long-term persistence of strains involved in disease outbreaks. Other projects in his laboratory evaluate the role of different mosquito species to serve as vectors of arboviruses by determining their vector competence, host-feeding, and infection patterns in nature. He also directs the Connecticut Mosquito and Arbovirus Surveillance Program that monitors mosquito populations and arbovirus activity at 91 locations statewide.