Alumni

Graduate Student Alumni

Grace Anderson, MS, 2017, Shultz Lab
Research: Revision of the North American Harvestman Genus Hadrobunus (Opiliones, Sclerosomatidae)

Alec Armstrong, PhD, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Relating biogeochemistry to hydrologic connectivity in stream and wetland ecosystems with a particular focus on organic matter dynamics.

Olivia Bernauer, MS, 2017, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: The Maryland Native Pollinator Survey: combining Citizen Scientists with a specimen collection to determine the floral preferences of Maryland’s native pollinators.

Maira Bezerra, PhD, 2017, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Sugarcane agriculture as an agent of geomorphic change and stream degradation in Brazil.

Mercedes Burns, PhD, 2014, BEES, Shultz Lab
Research: Phylogenetic Exploration of Mating System Evolution in the Eastern North American Leiobunine Harvestmen (Opiliones: Sclerosomatidae)
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, UMBC

Elizabeth Brandt, MS student, Hawthorne Lab
Research: The genetics of insect detoxification pathways, specifically honey bees and the upstream detoxification gene regulator Nrf2.

Mengyao Chen, MS, 2018, Pick Lab
Research: Evolution of segmentation genes in non-holometabolous insects.

Peter Coffey, MS, 2018, Hooks Lab
Research: Can cover crop residues seuppress pests and improve yield in eggplant?
Current Position: Agent Associate, Agriculture and Food Systems Educator, Carroll County, University of Maryland Extension

Crystal Cooke, PhD, 2018, Mitter Lab
Research: Forest micro-hymenoptera, including those attacking trees (cynipidae oak gall wasps) and those potentially defending them (parasitic pteromalidae).
Current Position: Entomology Instructor, Department of Agricultural Biology , Colorado State University

Aditi Dubey, PhD, 2020, Hamby Lab
Research: Evaluating the potential benefits and long-term sustainability of neonicotinoid seed treatments in mid-atlantic grain crop production
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate, Hamby Lab, UMD Department of Entomology

Brock Couch, MS, 2019, BEES, Lamp Lab
Research: Biological connectivity of wetland and stream habitats on the Delmarva Peninsula using aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Current Position: PhD student, Mathematics and Science Education, Middle Tennessee State University

Becca Eckert, PhD, 2020, Lamp Lab
Research: Leaf-associated periphyton in heterotrophic streams: Effect on macroinvertebrate assemblages and growth.

Steve Epting, MS, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Using landscape metrics to predict hydrologic connectivity patterns between forested wetlands and streams in a coastal plain watershed.
Current Position: Biologist with the EPA Healthy Watersheds Program and National Tribal Nonpoint Source Coordinator

Rosemary Fanelli, PhD, 2016, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Effects of urbanization and infiltration-based watershed restoration on the hydro-ecology of headwater streams.
Current Position: Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Baltimore, MD

Alexander Forde, PhD student, BEES, Gruner Lab
Research: Community ecology, multi-trophic interactions, ecological effects of biodiversity.

Andrew Garavito, MS, 2017, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Pollen Nutrition, Pesticides, and Pathogens: Interactive Effects on Honey Bee Health.
Current position: Faculty Research Assistant, vanEngelsdorp Lab, UMD Department of Entomology

Ryan Gott, PhD, 2016, Lamp/Hawthorne Lab
Research: Tying the molecular to the ecological: Gene expression as a biomarker of exposure in the amphipod Hyalella azteca.
Current position: IPM Specialist, Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, PA

Jessica Grant, MS, 2016, Lamp Lab
Research: Phenology and Cold Tolerance of Megacopta cribraria: An Invasive Soybean Pest at its Northern Limit.
Current Position: Insect Zoo and Butterfly Pavilion Contractor, Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of Natural History

Jackie Hoban, MS, 2017, Shrewsbury Lab
Research: Effect of habitat factors and host plant on natural enemies of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) and implications for biological control.
Current position: Technical Specialist, Home Paramount Pest Control

Kelly Hondula, PhD, 2021, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Links between hydrology and carbon cycling in forested wetlands
khondula@sesync.org

Jake Hosen, PhD, 2015, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Alterations to headwater stream microbial communities and carbon cycling in response to environmental change.
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University

Lauren Hunt, MS, 2016, Hooks Lab
Research: Influence of a native insectary plant, Chamaecrista fasciculata (Michx.) on organic field corn and arthropod communities.
Current Position: Data Analyst at Keyrus USA, New York, New York

Ana Jesovnik, PhD, 2016, Mitter Lab
Research: Taxonomy, phylogenomics, and natural history of the fungus-farming ant genus Sericomyrmex.

Cora Ann Johnston, PhD, 2016, BEES, Gruner Lab
Research: Marine community assembly in a dynamic ecotone.
Current Position: Site Director for University of Virginia's Coastal Research Center and the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER

Hanna Kahl, MS, 2017, Hooks Lab
Research: Using living mulch and wolf spiders to manage arthropods in cucumber.
Current Position: PhD Student, Rosenheim Lab, University of California-Davis

Anna Kottkamp, MS, 2019, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Organic matter biogeochemistry of terrestrial-wetland interfaces.

Kelly Kulhanek, PhD, 2020, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Characterizing effectiveness of and obstacles to best beekeeping management practices

Dylan Kutz, MS, 2020, Lamp Lab
Research:Agricultural drainage ditches as sources of beneficial spiders to enhance conservation biocontrol in adjacent croplands
Current Position: Quality Control Supervisor at American Pest.

Zachary Lamas, PhD Candidate, Hawthorne Lab
Research: Studying the feeding behavior of Varroa destructor mites.
zlamas@umd.edu

Alan Leslie, PhD, 2014, Lamp Lab
Research: The diversity of burrowing benthic invertebrates and their impact on phosphorus dynamics in agricultural drainage ditches.
Current Position: Agent, Agriculture and Food Systems Educator, Charles County, University of Maryland Extension

Maggie Lewis, PhD, 2020, Hamby Lab
Research: Evaluating the interactions between spotted wing drosophila and its yeast and fungal microbes, as well as improving spotted wing drosophila integrated pest management.
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate, Ohio State University

Brian Lovett, PhD, 2019, St. Leger Lab
Research: Mycology and genetics in agricultural and vector biology systems, currently analyzing mycorrhizal interactions in agricultural systems, the transcriptomics of malaria vector mosquitoes, and the genomes of entomopathogenic fungi.
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate, Kasson Laboratory, Division of Plant & Soil Sciences, West Virginia University

Gussie Maccracken, PhD, 2020, Shultz Lab
Research: Plant-arthropod associations of southern laramidia during the campanian (late cretaceous)
Current Position: Paleontologist, NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in Colorado

Mayda Nathan, PhD, 2020, Gruner Lab
Research: Plant-insect interactions in a shifting coastal ecosystem: Avicennia germinans and its associated arthropods

Anna Noreuil, MS, 2020, Fritz Lab
Research: Studies on host-seeking behavior and differential chemosensory gene expression in above- and below-ground Culex pipiens
Current Position: Faculty Assistant, Fritz Lab, UMD Department of Entomology

Samuel Ramsey, PhD, 2018, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Novel adaptations in morphology, development, and nutrient acquisition for host exploitation in the mesostigmatid honey bee parasite varroa destructor.
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate, USDA's Bee Lab in Maryland

Armando Rosario-Lebron, MS, 2016, Hooks Lab
Research: The effect of barley cover crop residue and herbicide management on the arthropod community in no-till soybeans.
Current Position: Agricultural Scientist, USDA

Justin Rosenthal, PhD, 2021, Yaun/Pick Lab
Research: Using the Drosophila larval visual circuit as a model to determine how synaptic activity influences development of the postysnapse in central neurons.

Elanor Stevens, PhD, 2016, BEES, Lamp Lab
Research: Analysis of macroinvertebrate communities in seasonal wetlands through time, space, and species traits.
Current Position: Education Coordinator, Forest Park Forever

Andrew Sensenig, PhD, 2009, Shultz Lab
Research: Elastic Sclerites and Hydraulics in Arachnid Locomotion.
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biology, Fresno Pacific University

Serhat Solmaz, MS,, 2021, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Studying the effects of Nosema cerenae on honey bee pathophysiology

Nathalie Steinhauer, PhD, 2016, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Reducing the risk of honey bee colony loss through beekeeping management practices.
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate, vanEngelsdorp Lab, UMD Department of Entomology

Ted Striegel, MS, 2021, Hawthorne Lab
Research: A Survey of bees in the University of Maryland campus area

Christopher Taylor, PhD, 2016, Mitter/Dively Lab
Research: Understanding the Relationship between the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), and its symbiont, Candidatus Pantoea carbekii, with implications for stink bug management.
Current Position: Technical Specialist, Home Paramount Pest Control

Elske Tielens, PhD, 2019, BEES, Gruner Lab
Research: Diversity and structure of Metrosideros polymorpha canopy arthropod communities across space and time.
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Oklahoma

Morgan Thompson, MS, 2019, Lamp Lab
Research: Evaluating the effect of potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae) feeding on biological nitrogen fixation in alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
Current Position: Ph.D. student at Texas A&M.

Madvhi Venkatraman, PhD, 2021, BEES, Gruner Lab
Research: Population genomics and adaptation to novel environments in the invasive Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus)
Current Position: NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in Biology

Rebecca Wilson, PhD, 2018, Lamp Lab
Research: Spatial Distribution, Habitat Preference, and Societal Impact of the Nuisance Black Fly, Simulium jennings

Jie Xiang, PhD, 2017, MOCB, Pick Lab
Research: Dermestes maculatus, a new beetle model system to study segmentation.
Current Position: Business Development Manager, Biocytogen Boston Corporation

Postdoctoral Associate & Research Faculty Alumni

Kristopher Abell, Shrewsbury Lab

Edwin Afful, Hamby Lab

Humberto Boncristiani, vanEngelsdorp Lab

Amanda Buchanan, Hooks Lab

Guihua (Grace) Chen, Hooks Lab

Bruno Donzelli, St. Leger Lab

Ariela Haber, vanEngelsdorp Lab

Alys Jarvela, Assistant Research Scientist, Pick Lab
Research: How developmental gene regulatory networks evolve and how transcription factors precisely regulate gene expression during development.