CUIC Student Spotlight – Meet Anna Labiner

1. What is your name?

Answer: Anna Labiner

2. Where did you grow up?

Answer: Sarasota, FL

3. Previous education/schools/institutions?

Answer: I went to high school at Pine View School.

4. What got you interested in entomology?

Answer: Like many entomologists, I have been interested in insects since I was little. However, it was only after I did a genetics lab using Drosophila that I considered pursuing entomology in an academic setting. Majoring in entomology is the best decision I have ever made, and I am so lucky to be surrounded by a community of intellectually curious faculty and students.

5. What are you working on now in the Cornell University Insect Collection?

Answer: I am currently cataloging our mosquito collection and correcting the genus of some of our Nearctic specimens. We also received a very large donation of mosquitoes from a local researcher, which I am working on integrating into our collection.

6. What is your favorite thing about working in the collection?

Answer: I really enjoy looking at the large diversity of mosquito specimens that we have in the collection, but one of my favorite parts of working on this project has been learning more about the collectors themselves. When I see a name pop up a couple of times I’ll look them up and see what I can find — my favorite so far is Harrison Gray Dyar Jr., who built tunnel networks under his home. I am very interested in scientific history and notable researchers, and learning about the collectors themselves makes the collection much more personal.

7. What is the most creative curatorial or field collecting technique you have used or invented?

Answer: When I worked at Mosquito Management Services, we ran into the issue of ants getting into the CO2 traps. The way we would prevent this was to fill a small reservoir below the trap bag with soapy water to stop the ants from getting into the bag.

8. Where do you see yourself in 25 years?

Answer: I am very interested in vectored diseases, so in 25 years I would hope to be out of med school and actively treating patients with diseases like Malaria, Dengue, West Nile, etc. Being a medical professional with a strong background in entomology is incredibly important in effectively treating vectored diseases, which is becoming increasingly important as temperatures continue to rise.

9. What is a random factoid about you that most people do not know?

Answer: I was in the circus for 5 years and my favorite acts were acrobatic roller skating and teeterboard.

10. If you could have a super power what would it be and what would you do with it?

Answer: If I had a super power I would want to be able to tell exactly when fruit was ripe just by looking at it. I would probably use my power to be the world’s best Instacart shopper.