Marten J Edwards
Education
- National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship, Case Western Reserve University
- Ph.D., University of Arizona
- Peace Corps, Kingdom of Tonga
- B.A., Reed College
Teaching Interests
I emphasize the connections between living things, from the molecule to the whole enchilada. Some students think I am obsessed with insects, especially the ones that bite and transmit diseases. While that is true, I see insects as a truly incredible set of goggles through which to view nature and our role in it.
Students in many of my classes do quite a bit of writing. My general approach to writing is that we should always try to write to be read. In other words, write in a way that people will actually want to read what we have to say—when nobody is watching. Write things that are so interesting, our readers will be able to tune out all distractions while reading our work at a busy airport terminal.
Another hallmark of my teaching is my knack for making biological concepts as “sticky” as possible, either by connecting a concept to existing twigs of understanding or by putting it in the context of a catchy tune. Years after my classes, my students still sing, “Won’t you take me to—translocon,” to the tune of “Funkytown,” while they remember how a signal peptide directs a new protein to the endoplasmic reticulum during the process of translation.
Research and Scholarship
The Edwards Lab focuses on two blood-sucking organisms: mosquitoes and ticks. We have been investigating how mosquitoes produce juvenile hormone, which regulates many different aspects of the mosquito lifestyle, including their ability to reproduce. Starting in 2018, we will be collaborating with researchers at Georgetown University to determine how invasive Asian tiger mosquitoes survive the cold winters we experience in Allentown. We have also been supported by the Luther Rhodes Endowment for Infectious Disease Research from the Lehigh Valley Health Network to determine the percentage of ticks that are infected with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease and other pathogens. Students in my lab gain experience in every part of this project, from collecting ticks in the woods to identifying the pathogens using a variety of molecular tools.
I am also a frequent collaborator in national efforts to map the geographic distribution of 17-year cicadas. As an entomologist with experience in the identification of insects in Pennsylvania, I answer general questions that are related to insects or other “bugs,” such as ants, kissing bugs (and their non-offensive look-alikes, stink bugs) and native bees.
- Biology Independent Study/Research - Molecular/Cell Biology
- Biology Independent Study/Research - Tick Diversity
- Biology Independent Study/Research - Ticks in Lehigh Valley
- Biology Independent Study/Research: Tick Surveillance in LV
- Cell Biology
- CUE: Vector Biology
- Dana Scholars Directed Studies - Tick Blood Meal Origin
- From Ecosystems to Organisms
- Insect Ecology
- MUHLES Research Apprenticeship - Edwards Lab research
Nouzova, M., Edwards, M.J., DeGennaro, M. et al. (2022) Genetics tools for corpora allata specific gene expression in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Sci Rep 12, 20426. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25009-4
Nouzova M, Edwards M, Michalkova V, Ramierez C, Ruiz M, Areiza M, DeGennaro M, Fernandes-Lima F, Feyereisen F, Jindra M, Noriega F (2021) Epoxidation of juvenile hormone was a key innovation improving insect reproductive fitness. PNAS 118(45) 34697248.
Edwards MJ, Russell JC, Davidson EN, Yanushefski TJ, Fleischman BL, Heist RO, Leep-Lazar JG, Stuppi SL, Esposito RA, Suppan LM (2019). A 4-Yr Survey of the Range of Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in the Lehigh Valley Region of Eastern Pennsylvania. Journal of Medical Entomology 56(4) 1122-1134, https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjz043.
K Waits, Edwards MJ, A Varsani (2017) Identification of novel tick-associated torque teno virus and genomoviruses. Virus Genes 1-5.
Edwards MJ, Barbalato LA, Makkapati A, Pham KD, Bugbee LM. (2015) Relatively low prevalence of Babesia microti and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Ixodes scapularis ticks collected in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases 6: 812-819.
Cooley JR, Simon C, Maier C, Yoshimura J, Edwards MJ, Holliday C, Marshall C, Sanders RL Neckermann M, Bunker G and Zyla J The distribution of periodical cicada (Magicicada) Brood II in 2013, with surprising disjunct populations (Hemiptera: Cicadidae). American Entomologist, In Press.
Nouzova M, Edwards MJ, Mayoral J and Noriega FJ (2011) A coordinated expression of genes encoding biosynthetic enzymes regulates the flux of juvenile hormone precursors in the corpora allata of mosquitoes. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 41(9) 660-669.
Cooley JR Kritsky G, Edwards MJ, Zyla JD, Marshall DC, Hill K, Bunker G, Neckermann M, Troutman R, Yoshimura J and Simon C (2010). Periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.): A GIS-based map of Broods XIV in 2008 and “XV” in 2009. American Entomologist 57(3) 144-150.
Mooney E, Edwards MJ and Niesenbaum RA(2010) Genetic differentiation between sun and shade habitats in populations of Lindera benzoin L. Population Ecology 52 (3) 417- 427.
Cooley JR, Kritsky G, Edwards MJ, Zyla J, Marshall JC, Hill KB, Krauss R, Simon C (2009). The Distribution of Periodical Cicada Brood X in 2004. American Entomologist 55(2) 196-112.
Muth, N.Z., E.C. Kluger, J.H. Levy, Edwards MJ and R.A. Niesenbaum (2008). Increased herbivory in the shade: the result of necessity, feedback, or luxury foraging? EcoScience 15(2):182-188.
Edwards MJ and Niesenbaum RA (2007) Eleven polymorphic microsatellite loci in Lindera benzoin, Lauraceae. Molecular Ecology Notes 7 (6), 1302–1304.
Edwards MJ, Faivre AE, Crist RC, Sitvarin MI and Zyla J (2005) Distribution of the 2004 emergence of seventeen-year periodical cicadas. Entomological News 116(5) 273-284.
Rudenko N, Golovchenko M, Edwards MJ and Grubhoffer L. (2005). Differential expression of Ixodes ricinus tick genes induced by blood feeding or Borrelia burgdorferi infection. Journal of Medical Entomology 42(1): 36-41.
- National Institutes of Health Ruth Kirschstein Senior Research Fellowship (2010)
- Williams Award for Pre-tenure Scholarship (2007)
- Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching (2017)
Pennsylvania Vector Control Association 2017: Julia Leep-Lazar, Thomas Yanushefski, Emily Davidson, Samantha Stuppi.
Lehigh Valley Ecology and Evolution Symposium 2017: Thomas Yanushefski, Bess Fleishchman, Rita Esposito.
Biochemistry
Biology
Contact: martenedwards@muhlenberg.edu