Alexander Franz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology of University of Missouri (MU). His research focuses on arbovirus-mosquito interactions to characterize genetic determinants of vector competence and to develop novel molecular strategies to interrupt the arboviral disease cycle in the vector. The viruses he is currently investigating are dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses, which are transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus and have the ability to cause explosive disease outbreaks in tropical regions of the world. Prior to his position at MU, he was conducting his research on mosquito-arbovirus interactions at the Arthropod-borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Colorado State University; initially as a Postdoctoral Researcher, and finally as an (non-tenure) Assistant Professor. Alexander Franz earned his PhD. in Plant Pathology at the University of Kiel, Germany studying the interactions between a newly emerging plant virus of the Nanoviridae and its aphid vectors.