Staff profile

Lab website

insectneurolab.com

Lena obtained her PhD in 2009 from the University of Sussex, studying insect visual navigation. She later was a postdoctoral fellow at UCL, Johns Hopkins University and Imperial College, and a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Manchester University. Lena's postdoctoral research focussed on: 1) the co-evolution of courtship songs and hearing in Drosophila; 2) the development of genetic tools for insects, including non-model organisms (mosquitoes); and 3) insect olfaction. Lena joined Durham Biosciences as an Assistant Professor in 2019 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2023. Lena's group (the InsectNeuroLab) is working on genetic tool development, insect sensory neuroscience and sensory ecology, with a specific focus on Drosophila, mosquitoes, bumblebees and Black Soldier Flies. Please see insectneurolab.com for more details.

• Black soldier flies
• mosquitoes
• Drosophila
• bumblebees
• development of genetic tools
• sensory neuroscience
• neuroethology
• olfaction
• sensory ecology

Chapter in book

• The Q-system: A Versatile Repressible Binary Expression System
  Fölsz, O., Lin, C.-C., Task, D., Riabinina, O., & Potter, C. J. (2022). The Q-system: A Versatile Repressible Binary Expression System. In Drosophila: Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2541-5_2
• The Q-System: A Versatile Expression System for Drosophila
  Riabinina, O., & Potter, C. (2016). The Q-System: A Versatile Expression System for Drosophila. In Drosophila. Methods in Molecular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6371-3_3

Journal Article

• Olfactory systems across mosquito species
  Wheelwright, M., Whittle, C., & Riabinina, O. (in press). Olfactory systems across mosquito species. Cell and Tissue Research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-020-03407-2
• Meta-analyses of Culex blood-meals indicates strong regional effect on feeding patterns
  Griep, J. S., Grant, E., Pilgrim, J., Riabinina, O., Baylis, M., Wardeh, M., & Blagrove, M. S. C. (2025). Meta-analyses of Culex blood-meals indicates strong regional effect on feeding patterns. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 19(1), Article e0012245. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012245
• The neuroecology of olfaction in bees
  Gomez Ramirez, W. C., Thomas, N. K., Muktar, I. J., & Riabinina, O. (2023). The neuroecology of olfaction in bees. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 56, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2023.101018
• Approach Direction Prior to Landing Explains Patterns of Colour Learning in Bees
  Langridge, K. V., Wilke, C., Riabinina, O., Vorobyev, M., & Hempel de Ibarra, N. (2021). Approach Direction Prior to Landing Explains Patterns of Colour Learning in Bees. Frontiers in Physiology, 12, Article 697886. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.697886
• An intestinal zinc sensor regulates food intake and developmental growth
  Redhai, S., Pilgrim, C., Gaspar, P., Giesen, L. V., Lopes, T., Riabinina, O., Grenier, T., Milona, A., Chanana, B., Swadling, J., Wang, Y.-F., Dahalan, F., Yuan, M., Wilsch-Brauninger, M., Lin, W.-H., Dennison, N., Capriotti, P., Lawniczak, M., Baines, R., Warnecke, T., …Miguel-Aliaga, I. (2020). An intestinal zinc sensor regulates food intake and developmental growth. Nature, 580(7802), 263-268. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2111-5
• Progress in the use of genetic methods to study insect behavior outside Drosophila
  Mansourian, S., Fandino, R., & Riabinina, O. (2019). Progress in the use of genetic methods to study insect behavior outside Drosophila. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 36, 45-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2019.08.001
• Commonly Used Insect Repellents Hide Human Odors from Anopheles Mosquitoes
  Afify, A., Betz, J., Riabinina, O., Lahondere, C., & Potter, C. (2019). Commonly Used Insect Repellents Hide Human Odors from Anopheles Mosquitoes. Current Biology, 29(21), 3669-3680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.007
• Split-QF System for Fine-Tuned Transgene Expression in Drosophila
  Riabinina, O., Vernon, S., Dickson, B., & Baines, R. (2019). Split-QF System for Fine-Tuned Transgene Expression in Drosophila. Genetics, 212(1), 53-63. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.119.302034
• Organization of olfactory centres in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae
  Riabinina, O., Task, D., Marr, E., Lin, C.-C., Alford, R., O'Brochta, D., & Potter, C. (2016). Organization of olfactory centres in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Nature Communications, 7(1), Article 13010. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13010
• Olfactory Behaviors Assayed by Computer Tracking Of Drosophila in a Four-quadrant Olfactometer
  Lin, C.-C., Riabinina, O., & Potter, C. (2016). Olfactory Behaviors Assayed by Computer Tracking Of Drosophila in a Four-quadrant Olfactometer. Journal of Visualized Experiments, Article e54346. https://doi.org/10.3791/54346
• Improved and expanded Q-system reagents for genetic manipulations
  Riabinina, O., Luginbuhl, D., Marr, E., Liu, S., Wu, M., Luo, L., & Potter, C. (2015). Improved and expanded Q-system reagents for genetic manipulations. Nature Methods, 12(3), 219-222. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3250
• A transcriptional reporter of intracellular Ca2+ in Drosophila
  Gao, X., Riabinina, O., Li, J., Potter, C., Clandinin, T., & Luo, L. (2015). A transcriptional reporter of intracellular Ca2+ in Drosophila. Nature Neuroscience, 18(6), 917-925. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4016
• Head movements and the optic flow generated during the learning flights of bumblebees
  Riabinina, O., de Ibarra, N., Philippides, A., & Collett, T. (2014). Head movements and the optic flow generated during the learning flights of bumblebees. Journal of Experimental Biology, 217(15), 2633-2642. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.102897
• Bumblebee calligraphy: the design and control of flight motifs in the learning and return flights of Bombus terrestris
  Philippides, A., de Ibarra, N., Riabinina, O., & Collett, T. (2013). Bumblebee calligraphy: the design and control of flight motifs in the learning and return flights of Bombus terrestris. Journal of Experimental Biology, 216(6), 1093–1104. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.081455
• Coordinating compass-based and nest-based flight directions during bumblebee learning and return flights
  Collett, T., de Ibarra, N., Riabinina, O., & Philippides, A. (2013). Coordinating compass-based and nest-based flight directions during bumblebee learning and return flights. Journal of Experimental Biology, 216(6), https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.081463
• Do wood ants learn sequences of visual stimuli?
  Riabinina, O., de Ibarra, N., Howard, L., & Collett, T. (2011). Do wood ants learn sequences of visual stimuli?. Journal of Experimental Biology, 214(16), https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.058537
• Active Process Mediates Species-Specific Tuning of Drosophila Ears
  Riabinina, O., Dai, M., Duke, T., & Albert, J. (2011). Active Process Mediates Species-Specific Tuning of Drosophila Ears. Current Biology, 21(8), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.03.001
• A model of visual detection of angular speed for bees
  Riabinina, O., & Philippides, A. (2009). A model of visual detection of angular speed for bees. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 257(1), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2008.11.002
• Preferred viewing directions of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris L.) when learning and approaching their nest site
  de Ibarra, N., Philippides, A., Riabinina, O., & Collett, T. (2009). Preferred viewing directions of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris L.) when learning and approaching their nest site. Journal of Experimental Biology, 212(20), https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.029751

Other (Print)

• Genetic Toolbox Approaches in Mosquitoes
  Riabinina, O., Quinn, M., & Whitehead, J. (2022). Genetic Toolbox Approaches in Mosquitoes