#  Rachel Busby 

Graduate Student

Mansi Srivastava Lab

 

 

 



   ![a person smiling at the camera](/sites/g/files/omnuum6431/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/2026-11/Rachel%20Busby_0.jpeg?itok=wFHW_NrL) 

 



 

 location\_on Northwest Building 

 email [rachel\_busby@fas.harvard.edu](mailto:rachel_busby@fas.harvard.edu) 

 



 

Rachel received a dual B.S. in Biology and Anthropology from Brandeis University. There, she worked with sensory neuroscientist Dr. Paul Garrity to study biological pest control methods for *Aedes aegypti* mosquitoes, a major vector of dengue and zika virus. After graduation, she continued her work in Paul Garrity’s lab for two years as a research assistant. During this time, she worked on methods for transgenesis in non-model organisms and studied how temperature and humidity sensation contribute to host detection and blood-feeding behavior in *Aedes* mosquitoes. In the Srivastava Lab, Rachel is interested in the mechanisms by which neoblasts develop and maintain their pluripotency in adult *Hofstenia miamia*.