Faculty
Nancy Beckage
Professor of Entomology, Cell Biology and Neuroscience
Tel: (951) 827-3521
Fax: (951) 827-3087
E-mail: nancy.beckage@ucr.edu
Biography and Research Focus
My undergraduate career began at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, followed by University of Wisconsin-Madison where I received my B.S. degree in Zoology with a minor in English. I received the Ph.D. degree in Zoology from the University of Washington. I held faculty appointments at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and University of Wisconsin-Madison prior to assuming a faculty position at the University of California-Riverside in 1990, and retired from UC-Riverside in 2011. In 2008 I received an honorary Ph.D. from ETH Zurich in Switzerland.
During my graduate work I became fascinated with the subject of host-parasite interactions and became immersed in their biology. I have maintained my interests in endocrine, immunological, and behavioral host-parasite relationships throughout my career. Parasitoids are used in biological control of many important agricultural and forest insect pests, and as problems with evolution of pesticide resistance in pest populations are becoming increasingly severe, a refocusing of attention on biologically-based methods of pest control has recently developed. Parasitoid-associated molecules and factors, including viruses, offer great potential for developing novel biotechnological approaches to insect pest control. Parasitoid-polydnavirus-host systems are generating insights for designing new biorational strategies of insect pest control. These methods are using transgenic plants, genetically modified pathogens, or other strategies to exploit polydnavirus genes in developing new biotechnological strategies of pest control.
Publications
I enjoy writing and once considered a career in science journalism. I have edited four books on host-parasite and host-parasitoid interactions. The 2012 book “Parasitoid Viruses: Symbionts and Pathogens” published by Academic Press/Elsevier, which I co-edited with Dr. Jean-Michel Drezen of the CNRS Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte in Tours, France, provides comprehensive coverage on parasitoid viruses (bracoviruses, ichnoviruses, and virus-like particles) and parasitoid venoms. The international assemblages of authors offer several novel ideas for future developments in the field throughout the book. It is the very first book to be devoted to the newly mature discipline of parasitoid viruses. The book first traces the history of parasitoid virus research, beginning with the work of George Salt at Cambridge University, continues through subsequent decades to ultimately discuss current broad ranging research directions, and closes with a discussion of futuristic visions.
My earlier books include: “Insect Immunology” (2008, Academic Press/Elsevier); “Parasites and Pathogens: Effects on Hormones and Behavior” (1997, Chapman and Hall) and “Parasites and Pathogens of Insects. Vol. 1: Parasites. Vol. II. Pathogens” (1993, with co-editors B.A. Federici and S.N. Thompson, Academic Press). Future plans include another book.
My reviews on parasitoid biology and polydnaviruses have been published in a variety of venues (Annual Review of Entomology, Journal of Insect Physiology, Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, Parasitology Today, and Physiological Entomology). I have also published general interest articles in Scientific American, Bioscience and Microbiology Today. Our work on parasitoids has been featured in the popular press book Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer (2000), the Chronicle of Higher Education, National Geographic, several textbooks, the BBC film series “Alien Empire” and several television feature films.
Honors and Professional Activities
Honors include an appointment as Visiting Professor at the Universite Francois Rabelais/CNRS in Tours, France in July 2011. Dr. Beckage is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Service (AAAS). At the University of California-Riverside she received the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Mentorship of Undergraduate Research and a campus “Woman Who Makes A Difference Award”, among other distinctions, and was named to Who’s Who in America (2009) and Who’s Who in the World (2010).
She was elected as a AAAS Council Delegate, and recently completed service on the Executive Committee of the AAAS Council. In the Entomological Society of America (ESA) she was a member of the ESA Governing Board, and served as Section Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary of the Section on Physiology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Toxicology. Professional service also included election to the Council of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), and an appointment as the Liaison to facilitate relationships between the AIBS and ESA. She is currently serving on the Education Committee of the Entomological Foundation.
Her editorial service has included membership on the editorial boards of the Journal of Insect Physiology, Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, Biological Control, Entomologia Experiementalis et Applicata, Thomas Say Publications of the Entomological Society of America, and the electronic journals Journal of Insect Science, Frontiers in Invertebrate Physiology, and Viruses.