Center for Insect Science

The Center for Insect Science (CIS) was founded in 1989, when it received one of the three original National Science Foundation Biological Centers Awards. The Center is an administrative "umbrella" entity whose role is to foster collaborative research and education across topics relevant to integrative biology and areas of biomedicine and biotechnology that employ insects and other arthropods as model systems or investigate their medical impact.

The Center's members include postdoctoral research associates and faculty from Arizona's three state universities. Additional members come from various USDA facilities located throughout the state.The Center currently has 65 UA members from over 14 departments. Their interests and expertise include electrical and computer engineering; mechanical and aeronautical engineering; human physiology; neuroscience; molecular, cellular, and developmental biology; evolutionary biology and ecology; and entomology.

CIS is home to the Postdoctoral Excellence in Research and Teaching (PERT) training grant funded by the National Institutes of health. The PERT program prepares young scientists for success in tenure track positions by combining excellent research training with the opportunity to acquire other skills such as teaching and grantsmanship, essential to their long-term academic success. PERT provides funding for 17 postdoctoral associates per year.