Postdoctoral Experience
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Minnesota
January 2022 - current
Advisor: Dr. Vera Krischik
Legislative-Citizen Commission on MN Resources (LCCMR) Grant
Working on a project exploring pollinator conservation biocontrol. More specifically, this project aims to develop the use of a soil-dwelling microsporidian pathogen (Ovavesicula popilliae) for biocontrol of Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica), an invasive horticultural pest, with the wider goal of reducing the need for pesticides that negatively impact pollinators.
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of MN
August 2018 - 2021
Advisor: Dr. Bill Hutchison
Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)- Crop Protection Grant
Working on a project to further understand the adult and larval nutritional ecology of the invasive berry pest spotted-wing drosophila (SWD; Drosophila suzukii). We are also exploring insecticide resistance, sub-lethal effects on fly performance, and the transgenerational effects of sub-lethal exposure.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Texas A&M University
December 2015 - 2018
Advisors: Dr. Spencer Behmer and Dr. Gregory Sword
USDA Biotechology Risk Assessment Grant
Working on an offshoot of my doctoral work; measuring macronutrient profiles of sweet corn tissues and exploring the gene-by-environment interactions on nutrition and Bt susceptibility in H. zea.