ÍøºìÍ·Ìõ

KENNESAW, Ga. | Jul 23, 2026

ÍøºìÍ·Ìõ senior Brooklyn Galvan has found a happy place for the summer – in the mosquito-infested woods near Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

The environmental science major is conducting research into mosquitoes as pollinators as part of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates for Gulf Coastal Plains Ecology. The experience builds on Galvan’s experience researching the importance of mosquitoes to the ecosystem in the lab of KSU Assistant Professor of Microbiology Andrew Haddow.

A 2025 Birla Carbon Scholar, Galvan took a break from the field to talk about her discoveries so far, the joys of conducting research and where she hopes to take her experience in the future.

Q: How did you connect with this opportunity?

A: Dr. Haddow gave me a few websites to choose from when looking for summer internships, then I found different internships that aligned with my interests and he helped me with a letter of recommendation, my resume, and the application process. So that was really insightful and I was just so thankful for him. But honestly just I happened to stumble upon this opportunity and then I brought it to him. That’s when he said this would be a big opportunity for me and it aligned with my interests, so I applied and now I'm here.

Q: I had never thought about mosquitoes as pollinators. What kind of revelation was that?

A: Researchers mostly look to mosquitoes as vectors for disease instead of looking at them as full organisms. However they are more than just vectors and play a role within our ecosystem, like food for other animals. There's been some recent discourse about whether they're pollinators or not, since for some flowers they have a mismatch in their morphology, so mosquitoes are able to collect the nectar without entering the flower, which means they're unable to spread its pollen. But it's been proven with multiple plants, including orchids, that they can spread their pollen and be pollinators. There’s just not a lot of research that has gone into that. So, I would love to increase knowledge in mosquito ecology, especially here in the Mississippi and the Gulf Coast Plain region. There's a high diversity of mosquitoes, but there's not a lot of people looking in this region specifically whenever it comes to mosquito research or more superficially mosquito pollination.

I feel like a lot of people, whenever they see mosquitoes, focus on the disease and virus work, but only approximately 10 percent of described mosquitoes spread diseases and viruses. I want to help change that narrative.

Q: Will you continue your research this upcoming school year?

A: I would love to continue my research. I don’t know if it’ll be on mosquitoes’ pollination since I'm not sure how that would shift over to KSU. I did apply to be a part of the KSU , and I got accepted on an early condition. So I still have a few other conditions before I am fully accepted however, but they've accepted me for now so, that's exciting to hear.

And I love working in the Haddow Lab. Being a senior this year, I look forward to taking on a more independent and leadership role within the lab. I also am slowly narrowing down my research to become more specific to my goals, which will be very valuable for graduate school. For one of my classes, I'm going to be working in the lab instead of taking another class, so it will definitely be interesting.

Q: When you graduate, you will have spent four years conducting research as an undergraduate. Is that something you anticipated when you first came to KSU?

A: No, not at all. I was just touring KSU one day and they showed us the Science Building, and I saw people in the lab for the first time. I didn't know what they were doing. I saw them in lab coats, safety glasses, and gloves, just pouring things, so it was probably a chemistry lab that I was looking at. And my main thought was, it'd be cool if I did that or even had the opportunity to do something like that.

KSU having the opportunity to start research in the , is something a lot of institutions don't have. Multiple people in my cohort from all over – like New York, Iowa, Oklahoma – have told me that to join research, it takes a lot of work to get the opportunity to even be involved a research lab. For KSU to have this opportunity for freshmen to get research experience is amazing, I love it. This is not what I expected to do within my four years, but I couldn't be happier.

– Story by Dave Shelles

Photos by Matt Yung

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, ÍøºìÍ·Ìõ offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. ÍøºìÍ·Ìõis a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. ÍøºìÍ·Ìõis a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.