There are only 24 hours in a day, but don't tell that to Carla-Cristina “CC” de Melo Edwards. Anyone looking at her curriculum vitae (CV) must wonder: How can one person accomplish all that mountain of mosquito research, leadership, public service and outreach?
Edwards, a doctoral candidate in the lab of medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is the newly selected recipient of the 2026 Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology (MUVE) Student Recognition Award in Medical Entomology for a PhD Student from the Entomological Society of America (ESA).
The award recognizes graduate students for their accomplishments and potential in medical entomology. Edwards will be formally recognized at the MUVE business session during the ESA annual meeting, set Nov. 8-11 in Columbus, Ohio.
In addition, Edwards was recently awarded a 2026–2027 Sagehen Research Grant for her project, “Evaluation of Raman Spectroscopy for Characterizing Insecticide-Associated Biochemical Variation in California Mosquito Populations Using UC Natural Reserve Sites.” The $2,000 award will support her field research. The project uses Raman spectroscopy to investigate biochemical variation associated with insecticide exposure and resistance in California mosquito populations.
Edwards, projected to receive her doctorate in 2027, focuses her research on investigating the physiological mechanisms underlying pyrethroid resistance in Aedes aegypti (the yellow fever mosquito).
Earlier this year, Edwards won a $1000 prize from the UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s “Little Bang! Pitch Plus Poster Competition" for her innovative business plan to produce and market a mosquito spray as a cosmetic product. (See news story)
Edwards was a McNair scholar at Baylor University, where she received her bachelor's degree in biology, with a concentration in cell and molecular biology, in 2021.
"I became interested in the mosquito field through my undergraduate research, studying the sensory and oviposition responses of Aedes aegypti in relation to the compound geosmin," she said.
She obtained her master's degree in biology from Texas Tech University, Lubbock, where her thesis focused on medical entomology and vector biology. She investigated the effects of microplastics in relation to Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (the Asian tiger mosquito).
Edwards' work is widely recognized and supported with fellowships, awards, scholarships and grants. She received the 2023-25 UC Davis Eugene-Cota Robles Fellowship Award; the 2024-25 CDC-Pac Vec Graduate Fellowship Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Pacific Southwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases; and she received the UC Davis William Hazeltine Research Award for three consecutive years (2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027).
Hazeltine (1926-1994), an ardent supporter of the judicious use of public health pesticides to protect public health, managed the Butte County Mosquito Abatement District, Oroville, from 1966 to 1992, and the Lake County Mosquito Abatement District from 1961-1964.
Active in both the ESA and the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA), Edwards chairs the AMCA’s Young Professionals, comprised of more than 500 young mosquito control professionals throughout the nation.
At UC Davis, she is the newly elected president of the Scholars of Color+ Alliance (SOCA) as of April. "We are having our graduate symposium coming up in September!" she commented.
Edwards earlier served as vice president of the Entomology Graduate Student Association and as High School Outreach Chair for the UC Davis Society for the Advancement of Chicanos (SACNAS) Graduate/Postdoctorate Chapter.
She continues to volunteer at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open houses, UC Davis Picnic Day and UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day.
In one word: "incredible!"