Outstanding Faculty Award 2024: Laura Harrington

Bio

Dr. Harrington is a professor in the Department of Entomology at Cornell University and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases. She earned her M.S. from North Carolina State University and then worked in industry as an agricultural biologist, developing bio-rational pesticides for BASF.  She went on to complete her Ph.D. in entomology with a focus on mosquito biology and public health from the University of Massachusetts, where she conducted her dissertation research in rural Thailand. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California at Davis. 

Professor Harrington’s research focuses on the biology, ecology and behavior of mosquitoes that transmit human diseases. Her current research addresses feeding and mating behavior of the mosquito vectors of dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses.  She also investigates acoustic mating behavior and flight range of disease vectors, human-mosquito interactions, and the role of climate change and globalization on emerging vector borne diseases.  She is an award-winning mentor and teacher, offering courses at Cornell University in the fields of vector biology and global health. Harrington has published over 125 peer reviewed articles and three book chapters. 

Harrington frequently serves as an expert resource for the media; her work has been featured on the NBC nightly news, NPR, The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, BBC and Time magazine. Her research has been supported by funding from the NIH/NIAID, Gates foundation, USDA, DOD, NOAA and CDC.