Bello will then study how water maintains contact with leafhoppers that have brochosomes, as well as with leafhoppers whose brochosomes have been removed. She’ll also study the leafhopper cuticle and brochosome adhesion to the cuticle. Bello is serving as a mentor to Beckman Institute Undergraduate Fellow Shreyas Rajagopalan. Her work on brochosomes will better help researchers understand their potential for creating bioinspired anti-reflective coating materials and possibly new anti-biofouling materials.