Before that he worked extensively with UF’s Whitney Laboratory in St. Augustine, Florida. Dr. Okech’s laboratory research seeks innovative and environmentally-responsible ways to disrupt pathogen transmission by mosquitoes. In addition, he has conducted extensive studies on molecular and chemical pathways of nutrient (amino acids, ions) absorption in the midguts of larval and adult stages of mosquitoes. Dr. Okech has documented how the quantity of tryptophan, an essential amino acid, in mosquito diet is correlated to xanthurenic acid, a chemical critical to the initiation of development of malaria parasites in the mosquito midgut.