Alexander Raikhel

Last updated
Alexander Raikhel
Education
M.S in zoology, Leningrad University (1970)
Organization National Academy of Sciences [2]
Title
Distinguished professor of entomology
Spouse(s) Natasha Raikhel [3] [4]
Awards
Entomological Society of America's Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology (2001) [3]
Website sites.google.com/site/raikhellab/

Alexander S. Raikhel is a distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Riverside, and an elected member of the United States National Academy of Sciences.

Entomology scientific study of insects

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was more vague, and historically the definition of entomology included the study of terrestrial animals in other arthropod groups or other phyla, such as arachnids, myriapods, earthworms, land snails, and slugs. This wider meaning may still be encountered in informal use.

University of California, Riverside public research university in Riverside, California, USA

The University of California, Riverside, is a public research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on 1,900 acres (769 ha) in a suburban district of Riverside with a branch campus of 20 acres (8 ha) in Palm Desert. In 1907 the predecessor to UCR was founded as the UC Citrus Experiment Station, Riverside which pioneered research in biological pest control and the use of growth regulators responsible for extending the citrus growing season in California from four to nine months. Some of the world's most important research collections on citrus diversity and entomology, as well as science fiction and photography, are located at Riverside.

National Academy of Sciences science branch of the United States National Academies

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).

Contents

Early life and education

Raikhel grew up in Siberia in the Soviet Union. Raikhel was the son of two medical professionals, and was inspired by the books he read to become a scientist. He was fixated on the stereotypical image of intellectuals wearing glasses, and at one point deliberately failed a vision test so that he could wear glasses. Raikhel applied to Leningrad State University in 1965, but was delayed by the quota system due to his Jewish heritage. [3] As a result, he cleaned pens at Leningrad Zoo and took night courses to further his education, eventually earning his master's degree in 1970. Again delayed by the quota system for Jews, Raikhel worked for Yu. S. Balashov at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences during his studies;[ clarification needed ] Raikhel defended his thesis about blood-feeding organisms in 1975. [3]

Siberia Geographical region in Russia

Siberia is an extensive geographical region spanning much of Eurasia and North Asia. Siberia has historically been a part of modern Russia since the 17th century.

Soviet Union 1922–1991 country in Europe and Asia

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 30 December 1922 to 26 December 1991. Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The country was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Other major urban centres were Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometres north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains.

The Leningrad Zoo, sometimes called the Saint Petersburg Zoo or Sankt-Peterburgskiy Zoopark, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is located in Alexander Park in the Petrogradskaya Storona. It was founded by Sofia Gerhardt and Julius Gerhardt in 1865. It has about 2,000 animals from 410 species, including polar bears. It is one of the oldest zoos in Russia, as well as the most northernly.

Career

Raikhel's travels to study ticks in warmer climates influenced him and his wife, fellow Soviet scientist Natasha Raikhel, to look for a livelihood outside the USSR. With the help of visiting University of Georgia professor Jerry Paulin, the couple emigrated to the United States in 1979 as political refugees. [3] [4] Under Arden O. Lea at the University of Georgia, Raikhel switched from studying ticks to mosquitoes, which led him to study vector biology. Raikhel's work focused on identifying the chemical precursors to reproduction (vitellogenesis) in Drosophila , Aedes aegypti , and Culex quinquefasciatus . His lab discovered that the female mosquito, after having a blood meal, begins producing eggs. [3] [4] [5] Raikhel began work at Michigan State University in 1986 as an associate professor of entomology where he received the university's Distinguished Faculty Award. [3] While there, his work focused on the possibility of breeding mosquitoes to internally eliminate diseases they typically pass on to the animals they feed on. [6] In January 2002, Raikhel moved from Michigan to the University of California, Riverside, in Southern California. [4] That year, Raikhel was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and also awarded a MERIT award, a ten-year US$10,000,000(equivalent to $13,929,695 in 2018) grant to continue his mosquito research by the National Institutes of Health. [1] [4] In 2009 Raikhel was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his "groundbreaking contributions to understanding mosquito physiology". [4] The same year he was named a fellow of the Entomological Society of America. Raikhel founded and currently leads UCR's Center for Disease Vector Research. [5] Raikhel's recent research is on identifying how to manipulate the juvenile hormones of female mosquitos to impair their ability to reproduce healthy offspring, thus reducing vectors for yellow fever, dengue fever, and chikungunya. [7] [8] [9]

Tick order of arachnids

Ticks are small arachnids, typically 3 to 5 mm long, part of the order Parasitiformes. Along with mites, they constitute the subclass Acari. Ticks are ectoparasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. Ticks had evolved by the Cretaceous period, the most common form of fossilisation being immersed in amber. Ticks are widely distributed around the world, especially in warm, humid climates.

Natasha V. Raikhel is a professor of plant cell biology at University of California, Riverside and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

University of Georgia Public university located in Athens, Georgia, United States

The University of Georgia, also referred to as UGA or simply Georgia, is a public flagship research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1785, it is one of the oldest public universities in the United States.

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Richard R. Schrock American chemist

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The history of the University of California, Riverside, or UCR, started in 1907 when UCR was the University's Citrus Experiment Station. By the 1950s, the University had established a teaching-focused liberal arts curriculum at the site, in the spirit of a small liberal arts college, but California's rapidly growing population made it necessary for the Riverside campus to become a full-fledged general campus of the UC system, and was so designated in 1959.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Alexander Raikhel". University of California, Riverside . Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  2. ↑ "Alexander S. Raikhel". National Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Davis, Tinsley H. (December 28, 2010). "Profile of Alexander S. Raikhel". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 107 (52): 22381–22383. doi:10.1073/pnas.1018340108. PMC   3012477 . PMID   21173217.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pittalwala, Iqbal (April 28, 2009). "UC Riverside Professor Receives Top Scientific Honor".
  5. 1 2 "Alexander S. Raikhel, ESA Fellow (2009)". Entomological Society of America . August 2009.
  6. ↑ Weeks, Eric; D'Antonio, Michael (May 2001). "Making a New Mosquito Will tinkering make mosquitoes better or worse?". Discover .
  7. ↑ Keckeisen, Kevin (May 15, 2012). "Mosquito population bit by birth control". UCR Highlander.
  8. ↑ "Researchers Discover Natural Insect Growth Regulators in Plants". Entomology Today . January 28, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Discovery by UC Riverside Entomologists Could Shrink Dengue-spreading Mosquito Population". sciencenewsline.com. December 2, 2010.
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