Leonard Munstermann
Biography
Research & Publications
News
Appointments
Biography
After graduating from the University of Minnesota Morris, a small campus in western Minnesota, he joined the Peace Corps and taught biology in a "bush school" in western Ghana as well as an exposure to the tropical insect environment. After a year at U of M, Minneapolis, and a stint in the U.S. Army, he lived in Japan for two years studying Japanese language and culture. He returned to USA to the University of Notre Dame, studying mosquito genetics, ecology and evolution. After 20 years at Notre Dame as a graduate student and research faculty, he was invited to Yale School of Medicine as a research scientist to work on the population genetics and taxonomic relationships amongst the 400 species of South American phlebotomine sand flies. Currently, he continues the sandfly work and is completing a 15-year set of education grants translating current research in medical entomology into K-12 teaching curricula.
Education & Training
- PhDUniversity of Notre Dame (1979)
- MAUniversity of Minnesota, Zoology (1968)
- BAUniversity of Minnesota, Morris, Psychology (1964)
Activities
- Biological Research in ColombiaColombia 2008Professor Munstermann is on the editorial board of Biomedica, the internationally recognized research journal of the National Institute of Health (Instituto Nacional de Salud), Bogotá, Colombia.
- Biology and Genetics - Consultant to US ArmyGuatemala; Honduras; El Salvador 2008Professor Munstermann is a consultant to the civilian research arm of the US military - the US Army Center of Health for Promotion and Preventive Medicine - West. He advises on issues of biology and genetics research in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
- Taxonomy of Sand Flies (Lutzomyia Verrucarum Group) in South AmericaColombia 2007Professor Munstermann works to establish a new taxonomy for the 400 sand fly species in the genus Lutzomyia.
Honors & Recognition
Award | Date |
---|---|
Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, University of Minnesota, Morris | 2004 |
Elected President, Connecticut Entomological Society | 2001 |
Team Research Award (with M. Braks, J. Birungi, S. Juliano, L. Lounibos, R. Lourenco de Oliveira, G. O’Meara), Florida Entomological Society | 2000 |
14th Rozeboom Lecturer in Medical Entomology, John Hopkins University | 1998 |
Published photographs of Insect Vectors of Disease in 42 newspapers, research journals and books, including Science, New York Times and Yale Medicine | 1979, 2007 |
Professional Service
Organization | Role | Date |
---|---|---|
Connecticut Entomology Society | Society secretary--minutes, membership | 2000 - 2008 |