Dr Laura Sirot is an Associate Professor of Biology at the College of Wooster. Her qualifications include a B.S. and M.A. from the University of Michigan, as well as an M. Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Florida. The courses she teaches include Foundations of Biology; Gateway to Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; Animal Behavior; Experimental Design; and Natural History of Invertebrates.
Dr. Sirot’s research focuses on the ways in which females and males influence reproductive success of their mates before, during, and after copulation, focusing on these questions:
- What are the mechanisms by which females and males influence the outcome of reproductive interactions?
- Are these influences beneficial or costly to the other sex?
- How can research on these influences help inform practical applications such as insect management and human infertility treatment?
Currently, her main study systems are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and humans. Current projects include investigating:
- how seminal fluid proteins affect female behavior and physiology in Aedes aegypti
- non-invasive interventions for male fertility enhancement based on evolutionary theory
- mosquito-monkey interactions to better understand pathogen transmission dynamics and potential novel natural products for mosquito control
In January of 2020, at the Symposium S4: Reproduction: the Female Perspective from an Integrative and Comparative Framework at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, Texas, Dr. Sirot will present her paper on opportunities for female modulation of seminal fluid molecules. She will be speaking at Session 1: The reproducing female: theory to practice.
