Walter Leal


Walter Soares Leal is a Distinguished Professor of Entomology at the University of California, Davis.

Education

Leal was born in Brazil in 1954. He attended Federal University of Pernambuco from which he graduated in 1982 with a BS degree in chemical engineering. In 1987, he got his MS in agricultural chemistry from Mie University in Tsu-Mie, Japan. While still residing in Japan, Leal attended the University of Tsukuba, graduating from it with a Ph.D. three years later.

Research

In 2009 Walter Leal and Zainulabeuddin Syed studied Culex quinquefasciatus and its attraction to humans. In PNAS the duo of scientists suggested that mosquitoes are attracted to nonanal, a chemical that is produced by birds and people alike.

Awards