Class of 2025: Muhammed Camara conducts breakthrough research on mosquito-borne viruses

Name: Muhammed Camara

College: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Field of study: Entomology

Plans after graduation: Pursuing a Ph.D. in entomology at Virginia Tech

Favorite Hokie memory: Experiencing the warmth and community of Virginia Tech through events like Experience Africa and Gobbler fest. “Sometimes you want to spend time with someone who understands your culture. Experience Africa has everyone wearing their country’s cultural outfits and cultural food and music from across the continent. It felt like home. Gobbler Fest was also unforgettable."

Mission mindset

When graduate student Muhammed Camara arrived in Blacksburg in late 2022, it wasn’t just to be a visiting scholar in entomology. He came with a mission: to investigate the mosquito-borne viruses that affect communities like the one where he grew up in The Gambia. 

"Growing up in a country where malaria is a constant reality, I saw children missing school and village members really struggling because of mosquito bites,” he said. “I’ve had malaria more than 10 times in my life. Those experiences stayed with me, and they were the reason I fell in love with public health research and medical entomology.” 

Studying abroad to serve back home

After earning his undergraduate degree in public and environmental health from the University of The Gambia, Camara joined a malaria research team with the Medical Research Council, The Gambia. It was there that a mystery illness sparked his interest in arboviruses. Unlike malaria, which is a parasitic disease, arboviruses are viral diseases spread by arthropods such as mosquitoes and ticks.

"I had seen cases of people coming in with symptoms of malaria, but they tested negative,” he said. "So I started being curious about what else could be causing this.”

This led him to connect with Gillian Eastwood, associate professor in the Department of Entomology, who was working on a project on arbovirus prevalence in The Gambia. Camara joined as a visiting scholar for a few months to contribute to her project, and Eastwood had a better idea. 

"She asked me, ‘Why not come here as a master's student and work on this project?’" he said.

New knowledge for an understudied region

Camara’s work with Eastwood has led to the detection of three arboviruses for the first time in The Gambia. Because these diseases weren’t previously known to be in the country, people weren’t being tested for them. He had found his mystery illness. 

“When our team detected these arboviruses circulating in mosquitoes, something never documented in my country, I thought about the communities I grew up around, the people I care about, and how this research could give a better understanding of pathogens that might be making them sick." 

Over the course of his thesis work on mosquito species diversity and arbovirus prevalence across The Gambia, he processed over 40,000 mosquito specimens and identified 52 mosquito species from 12 genera.

"This is the first detailed survey of mosquito species in the country since the 1950s," Camara said.

Supported and inspired at Virginia Tech

Though the cultural transition to the U.S. was a challenge, Camara said Virginia Tech’s many support systems got him through it.

"The cultural diversity was amazing," he said. "I interacted with different nationalities and backgrounds to achieve a common goal and that opened my perspective on people and their ways of life. Virginia Tech was very helpful, especially the graduate school, my lab members, and the African Graduate Students Organization.” 

Camara credits entomology mentors, like Eastwood, now his advisor, and Associate Professor Sally Paulson, for helping him be successful.

"Muhammed is great person to work with,” Eastwood said. “He’s enthusiastic to understand new concepts, he bounces back from challenges, and he’s always a jolly face around the lab.”

Paulson, who taught Camara in her virology course, said she noticed his passion immediately.

"From the start, he stood out as a curious and enthusiastic learner,” she said. “His excitement about research was contagious. It’s been truly rewarding to watch him grow into a skilled and confident arbovirologist." 

After receiving so much support from friends and instructors, Camara wanted to give some of it back. He went on to receive a graduate assistantship through CALS Global. As part of his responsibilities, he’s helping organize a leadership training program for undergraduate students focused on applying sustainable development goals in real-world contexts. 

A full-circle moment

After graduation, Camara plans to continue this work in his Ph.D. program, which begins next semester, focusing on how well certain mosquito species transmit viruses to their hosts.  

He remains excited about the good his research might do back in The Gambia, but that wasn’t the only reason he chose to pursue a doctorate.

Earlier this year, Camara and his wife, Mariama, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Maimuna. Balancing fatherhood, financial pressure, and academic work wasn't easy, but it reinforced his commitment to continuing his education. 

"She is my world and everything to me," he said. "I had a plan of working after my master’s, but after deep conversations with my wife, we decided it's better to do a Ph.D. because this is a good opportunity."

Commencement is just a few weeks away, and Camara is eager to get back to work. He said there’s still more he can give back to his home country. 

"As I graduate, my hope is simple,” he said. “I want to take everything I’ve learned here back to West Africa, back home. I want to help build local capacity, strengthen mosquito and virus surveillance, and create opportunities for young scientists who come from places like The Gambia, where talent is abundant, but resources are limited.”