Graduate Students
Apart from the Entomology Graduate Program (ENTM), graduate students advised by faculty members in the Department of Entomology may be enrolled in the Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences Graduate Program (MEES) or in one concentration areas within the Biological Sciences Graduate Program (BISI), including:
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Alec Armstrong, PhD Student, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Relating biogeochemistry to hydrologic connectivity in stream and wetland ecosystems with a particular focus on organic matter dynamics. aarmstr1@umd.edu |
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Arielle Arsenault-Benoit, PhD Student, Fritz Lab
Research: Studying the ecology, host use, and landscape genomics of Culex pipiens mosquitoes, the primary vector of West Nile Virus, on an urban to rural gradient. aarsenau@umd.edu |
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Lindsay Barranco, MS Student, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Working on wildflower meadow projects with partners throughout the State of Maryland and is researching the establishment of ground nesting native bee sites within small scale wildflower plantings. lbarranc@umd.edu |
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Dongxu Chen, PhD Student, Hawthorne Lab
Research: The genetics of imidacloprid resistance in the Colorado potato beetle. dxchen@umd.edu |
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Krisztina Christmon, PhD Student , vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Studying the host-parasite-pathogen interaction of the honey bee parasitic mite. kriszch@umd.edu |
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Maria Cramer, PhD Student, Hamby Lab
Research: Studying non-target effects of pyrethroid insecticides and RNAi in field corn. mec@umd.edu |
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Elizabeth Dabek, MS Student, Hooks and Shrewsbury Lab
Research: Studying the fitness of native and non-native parasitoids due to climatic changes. dabek@umd.edu |
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Kathleen Ciola Evans, PhD Student, Espíndola Lab, ESO President
Research: Exploring plant-pollinator mutualisms and edamame pollination in heterogeneous landscapes. kciola@terpmail.umd.edu |
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Max Ferlauto, PhD Student, Burghardt Lab
Research: Studying the effects of suburban leaf litter raking on nutrient cycling and herbivore-parasitoid communities. ferlauto@umd.edu Website: https://maxferlauto.netlify.app/ |
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Matthew Fischer, PhD Student, MOCB, Pick Lab
Research: Studying the single-stripe expression patterns of the ftz cis-regulatory elements (CRE's) in D. melanogaster as a transcriptional model to determine how editing endogenous CRE's with the CRISPR-Cas9 system compares to the signal from transgenic reporter experiments. Ultimately, this will elucidate CRE necessity vs. sufficiency for ftz expression during early embryogenesis. mdfi5ch@umd.edu |
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Rong Guo, PhD Student, CBBG, Fritz Lab
Research: Comparative and population studies of two Lepidopteran species, Heliothis virescens and Heliothis subflexa rguo1990@umd.edu |
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Margaret Hartman, MS Student, Lamp Lab
Research: Studying the application of Odonata, specifically damselflies, as biological control agents in enclosed systems such as greenhouses and aquaponics. mehartma@umd.edu |
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Kelly Hondula, PhD Student, MEES, Palmer Lab
Research: Links between hydrology and carbon cycling in forested wetlands khondula@sesync.org |
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Kristin Jayd, MS Student, Burghardt Lab
Research: current research focus on parasitoids and their relationships, and how tree diversity shapes them. kjayd@umd.edu |
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Lisa Kuder, PhD Student, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Enhancing highway rights-of-way for pollinators. lkuder@umd.edu |
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Zachary Lamas, PhD Student, Hawthorne Lab
Research: Studying the feeding behavior of Varroa destructor mites. zlamas@umd.edu |
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Minh Le, PhD Student, Pick Lab
Research: Regulatory genes involved in hemipteran development. htmle99@umd.edu |
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Patrick McNamara, MS Student, St. Leger Lab
Research: Macro and micro-evolution of entomopathogenic fungi, and the impact of climate change on insect-pathogen relationships. pjmac@umd.edu |
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Mintong Nan, PhD Student, St. Leger Lab
Research: Studying how circadian rhythms affect Metarhizium infection of Drosophila. mnan@umd.edu |
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Anthony Nearman, PhD Student, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Using epidemiological data to drive research into the pathophysiology of honey bee diseases. anearman@umd.edu |
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Lasair M. Ní Cochlain, PhD Student, Hamby Lab
Research: My research interests lie in plant-insect interactions, insect ecology, and how these relate to agricultural systems. I am particularly interested in integrated pest management. As an undergraduate at Penn State, I investigated the role of root-mediated plant kin recognition on aphid behavior and performance in genotypically diverse wheat mixtures. I plan to focus on understanding the ecological interactions that structure insect communities and developing sustainable IPM techniques for grain and small fruit crops. lasair@umd.edu |
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Demian Nunez, MS Student, Hooks Lab
Research: Studying the potential biocontrol benefits of intercropping row crops with perennial ground cover in order to increase the natural abundance of ground predators such as wolf spiders. dnunez1@umd.edu |
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Justin O'Neill , PhD Student, BEES, Espíndola Lab
Research: Insect ecology and conservation, specifically pollinators in endangered Serpentine Grasslands joneill8@umd.edu |
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Eva Perry, PhD Student, Burghardt Lab
Research: Trophic relationships between native plants, their insect herbivores, and the arthropod predators that prey on these herbivores. evaperry@umd.edu |
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Maddie Potter, MS Student, Shrewsbury Lab, ESO Communications Officer
Research: Studying the biology and ecology of Anastatus reduvii, a native parasitic wasp of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB, Halyomorpha halys). mpotter@terpmail.umd.edu |
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Brendan Randall, MS Student, Burghardt Lab
Research: Studying the legume-rhizobium mutualism in soybean plants and its effects on trophic interactions as well as potential mechanisms for enhancing pest management strategies in agroecosystems brandall@umd.edu |
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Kate Reding, PhD Student, Pick Lab
Research: Studying the regulatory interactions underlying segmentation of the milkweed bug embryo. kreding@umd.edu |
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Tais Ribeiro, PhD Student, Espíndola Lab, ESO Vice President
Research: Studying the evolution of floral host specializations in oil-collecting bee genus Chalepogenus. tmattoso@umd.edu |
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Angela Sáenz, MS Student, Gruner Lab
Research: Landscape management to attract natural enemies of pests using weeds present in agroecosystems are hosts ansaenz@umd.edu |
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Jonna Sanders, PhD Student, vanEngelsdorp Lab
Research: Apis mellifera carnica genetics, adaptive beehive systems for disabled persons, Small Hive Beetles. sanderja@umd.edu |
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Huiyu Sheng, PhD Student, St. Leger Lab
Research: Studying on entomo-pathogenic fungi and their relationship with both plants and insects. hysheng@umd.edu |
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Ali Shokoohi, MS Student, Lamp Lab
Research: Exploring the ecology of natural enemies to develop and improve sustainable pest management strategies shokoohi@umd.edu |
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Darsy Smith, PhD Student, Lamp Lab & Graduate Student Government Representative
Research: Studying the influence of alfalfa cultivars and integrated pest management practices on the reproduction of natural enemies. dsmith28@umd.edu Website: https://www.darsysmith.com |
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Graham Stewart, PhD Student, Palmer Lab
Research: Studying carbon cycling in restored and natural freshwater wetlands. stewartg@umd.edu |
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Aileen Taylor, MS Student, ENST, Palmer Lab
Research: Studying diurnal patterns of methane cycling in restored and natural freshwater wetland ataylo29@terpmail.umd.edu |
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Veronica Yurchak, PhD Student, Hooks Lab
Research: Studying the potential benefits of interplanted living mulches for weed suppression, insect natural enemy enhancement and pollinator conservation in vegetable systems. vjohnsono4@umd.edu |
