Department of Entomology Faculty
Que Lan
Associate Professor
Additional Information
Contact Information
Address:
840 Russell Labs
1630 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Phone number:
608-263-7924
FAX:
608-262-3322
E-mail:
Que Lan
Research Areas
- Cholesterol intracellular transport in insect models
- Insect hormone-regulated stage-specific gene expression
- Sterol carrier protein- inhibitors: insect growth regulator/mode of action
- Funding agents
- NIAID
- DOD (DWFP)
Research Interest
Toxicology/Molecular Biology
Metamorphosis is a very complex process in insects. Cross-talk between Juvenile hormone and ecdysteroids initiates metamorphosis in the last larval stadium and in pupal/adults development. I am interested in hormone-regulated gene expression during metamorphosis in insects. The model systems used in my laboratory are the Yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti and the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta.
The precursor for ecdysteroid biosynthesis is cholesterol, which has to be obtained from exogenous sources in insects because there is no de novo cholesterol biosynthesis. Insects are efficient in converting phytosterols to cholesterol. However, one of the key processes of absorbing cholesterol or sterols is intracellular transportation of cholesterol/sterols through the midgut. My interest in cholesterol metabolisms is focused on intracellular cholesterol trafficking and how this process is controlled in insects.
Education
- B.S. Microbiology, Wuhan University
- M.S. Biology, Brock University
- Ph.D. Entomology, University of Minnesota
- Post Doctorate Training, Developmental Biology, University of Washington
Associates
- David Anstrom (Research Associate)
- David Dyer (Research Specialist)
- Qiang Fu (Graduate Student)
- Il Hwan Kim (Graduate Student)
- Min-Sik Kim (Graduate student)
- Ryan Larson (Grdaute student)
- James Radek (Research Associate)
- Vilena Maklakova (Research Specialist)