Occupation: Todaro is a medical entomologist for the Allegheny County Health Department.
Noteworthy: He heads the team that is trying to control and monitor the local West Nile virus mosquito population.
Background: Todaro first was drawn to the field as a youngster after seeing the movie "Them!" In the 1950s horror flick about radioactive ants, the Army has to ask a museum bug expert how to defeat the menace. As a soldier in Vietnam, Todaro marveled at how ants still came after his lunch, even in a bombed-out crater.
Education: He has a master's degree in entomology from Syracuse University.
Quote: "Unless you're looking at (mosquitoes) through a microscope, you really don't see their beauty. … People kind of look down their noses at insects. It's an insult to have a bug in your house. Now, if the bug is going to make you sick, that adds insult to injury."
