Research Interests:

Developing holistic integrated pest management strategies for direct and indirect insect pests of tree fruit by incorporating the behavior, biology, and landscape ecology of pests, pathogens, and natural enemies.

Aims:

To develop biologically based mechanical and cultural control strategies for insect pests.  To further the understanding of the vector biology in the X-disease pathosystem, along with the interactions between vector, host, and pathogen.  To assess the acquisition and incubation period of X-disease in the leafhopper, and mechanisms influencing pathogen transmission.  To incorporate this into an integrated pest management program for stone fruit production.

Current Research:

• Testing cultural controls through groundcover and tree architecture manipulation.
• Evaluating OMRI certified entomopathogenic fungi against the vectors of X-disease.
• Developing DNA preservative traps for genetic testing of vectors and statewide surveys.
• Assessing the acquisition to transmission timeframe for each vector species and the influence of varying pathogen strains.

Education

Ph.D. Entomology, 2020, Washington State University

BS, Entomology, 2014, University of Idaho

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