Congratulations to the recipients of the Fall 2024 Ernest N. Cory Undergraduate Scholarship, recognized for their extraordinary efforts in entomology.
Yasmine Helbling is a biological sciences major specializing in ecology and evolution, with an entomology minor. She is also an entomology honors student. She started off working in Karin Burghardt's lab, dabbling in urban ecology research by collecting insects off native red maple trees and invasive Norway maples. She currently works in Bill Lamp's lab where she is embarking on her first independent research project that looks into whether host-plant resistance is reducing biological control, thereby allowing secondary pests to thrive. This semester, she attended the Entomological Society of America’s annual meeting to present, “Does host-plant resistance inadvertently increase secondary pest populations by reducing biocontrol?”
Veronika Valverde Jimenez is a senior majoring in biological sciences with a cell biology and genetics specialization. She has been working in Leslie Pick's Lab since summer 2023, with a focus on assessing the function of the ebony gene in Oncopeltus fasciatus with the help of Dr. Katie Reding, work she continued this fall semester. In the Pick lab, she is learning to perform procedures such as RNAi and CRISPR injections. Afterward, she plans to pursue genetic counseling, saying that “research has provided me with beneficial knowledge that will prepare me for this career.”
Margaret Kato is a junior majoring in biological sciences with a minor in computer science. Since June 2023, she has worked as a lab technician in Niranjana Krishnan's Lab, helping with projects related to insect toxicology and how non-target species are impacted by pesticide application. She is also working on an entomology honors thesis about Coleopteran sensitivity to the major insecticide classes. Margaret says, “I am grateful for the hands-on experience offered by the Entomology Department and hope to use the skills and knowledge I have gained in my future career!”
