Walter S. Leal

Biosketch

Walter S. Leal is a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, and chaired the UC Davis Department of Entomology. He obtained his B. Eng. In chemical engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil; M.Sc. in agricultural chemistry from Mie University, Tsu, Japan; and a Ph.D. in applied biochemistry from the University of Tsukuba, Ibakari-ken, Japan. Before joining the UC Davis faculty, Dr. Leal was the first non-Japanese to earn tenure with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. He received the Silver Medal from the International Society of Chemical Ecology; a Medal of Achievement from the Entomological Society of Brazil; the Gijistusho (Technology Prize) from the Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry; and the Gakkai-sho (Fellow-like award) from the Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology. He was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and the California Academy of Sciences. Dr. Leal is an NSA member, a Corresponding Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, an Honorary Member of the Entomological Society of America, and a Trustee and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. He is the first UC Davis faculty to receive the UC Davis Academic Senate’s trio of awards: the Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award, the Distinguished Research Award, and the Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching.

Research Interests

Dr. Leal, who elucidated the mode of action of the insect repellent DEET, focuses his research on insect chemical ecology, olfaction, and chemical communication. He identifies chemical signals that mediate insect communication, such as sex pheromones, oviposition attractants, and repellents, and researches how the olfactory proteins involved in the reception of these semiochemicals, including odorant receptors, odorant binding proteins, and odorant degrading enzymes, contribute to the inordinate sensitivity and selectivity of the insect’s olfactory system. He seeks environmentally sound solutions to agricultural and medical entomological issues.