ITM's Experimental Immunology Unit (Simões Lab) was established in May 2023 and is the only laboratory in Belgium focusing on the innate immunity of malaria vectors, for the discovery of novel mosquito-based malaria control genetic technologies. Our research focuses on understanding how biotic and abiotic factors, such as pathogen infections and environmental variables, contribute to shaping the innate immunity responses of the Anopheles vector (the malaria mosquito) at the genetic, molecular, and mechanistic levels, with consequences for Plasmodium (the malaria parasite) infection and malaria transmission.