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Rosalind R James

Area Director

 (309) 681–6602

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Dr. Rosalind James is the Midwest Area (MWA) Director, effective July 2, 2023, providing leadership for the Area, which includes 13 research locations in nine mid-western states. Prior to becoming the Area Director, Dr. James served as an ARS Associate Area Director for the Northeast Area for five years. Dr. James first joined ARS in 1997, as an insect pathologist at the Kika de la Garza Sub-tropical Agricultural Research Center in Weslaco, TX, where she worked on developing biological control systems for invasive pests (whiteflies and varroa mites). Dr. James relocated to the Pollinating Insects Research Unit (Logan, UT) in 2001, where she worked for 14 years, including as the Research Leader for nine years. She is a leading expert on diseases in bees and microbial control of insect pests. Dr. James served as the ARS National Program Leader for Invasive Pests of Crops for five years (Beltsville, MD), just prior to joining the Northeast Area Office. As National Program Leader she coordinated and directed the ARS research programs on invasive weeds, post-harvest crop protection, and bees and pollinators. Throughout her career, she served as an expert advisor on invasive pests and bee issues to the Environmental Protection Agency, the ARS Administrator, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the White House Office of Science and Technology, and for international organizations such as the National Plant Protection Organization and the Methyl Bromide Technical Advisory Group (part of the Montreal Protocol for the reduction of ozone depleting substances). She obtained her PhD in entomology from Oregon State University while also working as a contract Senior Scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Research Laboratory in Corvallis, OR.