To mark World Malaria Day, the team at the African Center of Excellence in Genetic Engineeringl'ACEMEcame up with a unique idea: to take female students out of the classroom and put them in the shoes of real researchers. The goal? To show them that the fight against this age-old scourge also takes place at their fingertips, behind a lab bench, with tweezers, magnifying glasses, and mosquito samples.

As soon as they arrived, the students put on lab coats and gloves. The excitement was palpable. This wasn’t just a lecture: here, you touch, observe, dissect, and identify. The idea was to make them active participants in the discovery, to give them the practical tools of entomological research.

First challenge: dissecting the mosquito

The exercise began with a step that impressed more than a few: the careful dissection of female mosquitoes (since they are the ones that carry Plasmodium). Under the binocular magnifying glass, each student learned to identify the abdomen, the thorax, and especially the head, which contains the proboscis—the part that allows the female to bite. A precise, almost surgical maneuver that requires patience and meticulousness. “I didn’t think such a tiny insect could reveal such complexity,” whispers Aminata, one of the students.

From development to the species: understanding the cycle to better break it

We then went back in time. The students observed different stages of the mosquito’s development: from the floating egg to the wriggling larva, through the nymph, and finally the emerging adult. Understanding this cycle means knowing where and when to strike to interrupt transmission.

Finally, it was time to identify the species. Because not all mosquitoes are created equal. Anopheles gambiae, (the primary vector for malaria transmission in Africa) Aedes spp. and Culex sppthe students compared the spotted wings, resting position, and morphology of the palps. “We’ll never look at a mosquito the same way again,” laughed one group.

Why train female researchers?

In a single afternoon, these young women didn’t become experts, but they gained something precious: the conviction that research is accessible, practical, and that it needs all kinds of minds. Many are leaving with the desire to pursue advanced training in medical entomology.

On this World Malaria Day, we didn’t just talk about numbers or national initiatives. We planted seeds. And who knows? Perhaps one of these students will contribute tomorrow to the development of tools to fight malaria. Science has a female face, and it was beaming in our center today.

Today, we are planting seeds of inspiration. Tomorrow, they will change the fight against malaria.