Research areas for labs with ENTM 199 availability
On this page, you can find details about labs whose faculty have identified projects for B.S.+M.S. students and are recruiting for ENTM 199 students. You can either search by research area or by the project description.
These research topics describe current research projects for which faculty are seeking students. Please select a topic of interest to you and this will link to the faculty and a brief description of the projects related to these topics. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and you should contact any faculty whose lab conducts research of interest to you. Please see the department website for a full list of Entomology faculty.
Project Descriptions for Labs with ENTM 199 availability
In this table, you can find details about projects faculty have identified for B.S.+M.S. students and are recruiting for ENTM 199 students. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and you should contact any faculty whose lab conducts research of interest to you.
| PI and contact information | Brief description of open project(s) | Requirements and prerequisites | Research areas |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dr. Boris Bar (borisbar@ucr.edu) |
Mating biology of Africanized honey bees Varroa tolerance and anti-fungal immune responses in honey bees Electronic sensors to monitor honey bee colony health Innate and social immunity in social insects Insecticide mitigation in honey bees Risks and benefits of insect hotels |
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Reproductive biology, molecular biology, insect behavior & communication, pollinators, insect health and disease, ecology, host-parasite interactions, immunology, parasitology, evolution, proteomics, metabolomics |
|
Dr. Matt Daugherty (mattd@ucr.edu) |
Landscape ecology of biocontrol ecosystem services Geospatial analysis of arthropod invasions Impacts of climate change on vector-borne plant disease Sterile insect technique for Asian citrus psyllid management |
|
Invasion biology, ecology, plant-insect interactions, plant diseases, insect vectors of disease |
| Dr. Alec Gerry (alec.gerry@ucr.edu) |
Biology and behavior of house flies Vector biology and behavior Insecticide resistance of pest flies and beetles Ecology of forensic insects (flies and beetles) Molecular identification of forensic insects |
ENTM 100, ENTM 126 or ENTM 154 (* may be taken concurrently with project in lab) |
Medical entomology, Veterinary entomology, Forensic Entomology, Insect behavior, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) |
| Dr. Ysabel Giraldo (ysabelg@ucr.edu) |
Flight behavior in Drosophila Sensory and motor influences on locomotion |
Must have enthusiasm and eagerness to learn new things! Students should have the ability to work with others and independently. A minimum of 6 hours per week availability is required, and blocks of time of at least 2-3 hours to work in the lab | Insect behavior, neuroscience |
| Dr. Allison Hansen (allison.hansen@ucr.edu) | Insect-plant-microbe interactions | Must have good communication skills (both written and verbal). Students should have the ability to focus, have attention to detail, and be good at recording results. Ability to work independently and maintain a consistent and reliable schedule. Must be excited to conduct experiements with plants and insects. Must have an interest in learning genomics and bioinformatics. Must have an interest in insect ecology and evolution using molecular biology methods. |
Insect microbiomes, insect symbiosis, insect-plant-pathogen interactions, insect-symbiont evolution, metabolomics of insect-microbe interactions, plant-insect interactions |
|
Dr. John Heraty (john.heraty@ucr.edu) |
Systematics of parasitoid wasps, with an emphasis on Chalcidoidea |
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Dr. Mark Hoddle (mark.hoddle@ucr.edu) The Hoddle lab works on managing invasive insect pests that affect urban, agricultural, and wilderness areas. Management programs focus primarily on biological control agents that regulate pest population densities. This often results in natural enemies or biological control agents being used in Integrated Pest Management programs which reduced reliance on insecticides for pest management. |
Current projects include: biological control of Asian citrus psyllid and spotted lantern fly IPM of Argentine ant in citrus orchards biology and management of avocado lace bug in avocado orchards South American palm weevil monitoring and control in urban areas in San Diego County, and projects in Mexico on avocado seed weevils. |
Students that join the Hoddle lab need to be passionate about entomology, reliable, and work well with others. We have a large team and a very strong teamwork ethic. We are always busy doing interesting things in the field and lab that often have big practical and important applications for California. | Integrated Pest Management (IPM), biocontrol, Invasion biology |
|
Dr. Chow-Yang Lee (chowyang.lee@ucr.edu) |
Insecticide resistance in German cockroaches, evaluation of novel compounds against cockroaches |
A passion to work with insects |
Urban entomology, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), insecticide resistance |
|
Dr. Kerry Mauck (kerry.mauck@ucr.edu) The Mauck lab studies the transmission of plant pathogens by insect vectors from applied and ecological perspectives |
BS+MS student project opportunities include 1. Ecology and evolution of plant pathogens across agricultural-wild and urban-wild transition zones 2. Real-time manipulation of plant immunity for control of plant pathogens and their vectors in crop environments 3. Tracking vector movements through recovery of host plant DNA from gut contents 4. Impacts of host fidelity and host plasticity on hemipteran insect survival and vectorial capacity. More recently, we have begun studying the use of insects as decomposers of agricultural and food waste. Projects in this area center on optimizing on-farm rearing of the black soldier fly and applications of rearing outputs (larvae, frass) for plant health and plant growth promotion. |
Students should be interested in working with plants and insects, be reliable and have good record-keeping abilities. Good communication skills are essential (e.g., willingness to ask questions of other lab members, ability to give and receive feedback, ability to maintain a collegial and positive work environment for all). |
Insect behavior, plant-pathogen interactions, chemical ecology, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), insect vectors of disease |
| Dr. Quinn McFrederick (quinnmc@ucr.edu) |
The McFrederick lab studies wild and native bee conservation via the study of symbiosis. In other words, we study the good and bad microbes that affect bee health, with the goal of leveraging these microbes for bee conservation. Open projects include: 1) Floral transmission of beneficial bacteria 2) Floral transmission of bee and plant disease 3) Microbial ecology of bee nests 4) Interactions between microbes, nematodes, and bees 5) Microbial biodiversity |
We are looking for students who are passionate about science, especially symbiosis, biodiversity, and conservation. | Ecology & conservation biology, evolutionary genomics, evolution, insect health and disease, ecology, host-parasite interactions, plant-insect interactions, pollinators. |
|
Dr. Amy Murillo |
Biology, ecology, behavior, and management of livestock pests (including mite, lice, and flies) |
Prerequisites include ENTM 100 Recommended courses include ENTM 126 (Med/Vet) |
Veterinary entomology, host-parasite interactions, insect vectors of disease, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), insecticide resistance |
|
Dr. Jessica Purcell (jessica.purcell@ucr.edu) |
Environmental influences on soil movement and nest architecture of ants The genetic basis of evolutionary transitions in social organization |
We require this student to be able to lift heavy objects (a five-gallon bucket of soil) and to be reliable. Students should have excellent communication skills, be comfortable working independently once trained and established routines, and have the ability to accurately record data. Attention to detail, reliability, interest in laboratory work and/or bioinformatics (no heavy lifting required) |
Evolutionary genomics, evolution, sociality, insect behavior |
|
Dr. Erin Wilson Rankin (erin.rankin@ucr.edu) |
Interactions among insect and avian pollinators Impact of invasive species on local food webs Effect of competition with non-native species on ecosystem services Effects and risks of wasp predation on honey bee health (collaboration with Baer Lab) |
Interest in pollinator ecology, pollination, ability to work with stinging insects Basic experience with pipetting and familiarity with DNA extraction and PCR Interest in invasion ecology, conducting field observations |
Invasion biology, community ecology, food webs, ecology, sociality, pollinators, biocontrol |
|
Dr. Rick Redak (redak@ucr.edu) |
Plant-insect interactions |
A passion and interest in insect conservation, ecology, pest management. Students should have excellent communication |
Insect ecology conservation biology, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), nutritional ecology |
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Dr. Christiane Weirauch (christiane.weirauch@ucr.edu) |
Systematics, evolution and natural history of Hemiptera, with emphasis on true bugs (Heteroptera) |
A passion for insect biodiversity and evolution |
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Dr. Hollis Woodard (hollis.woodard@ucr.edu) |
Nutritional ecology and conservation physiology of bumble bees |
An interest in using experimental approaches to study a pollinator system |
Pollinators, nutritional ecology, conservation biology, ecology, evolution |
Sociality
Dr. Jessica Purcell (jessica.purcell@ucr.edu) http://www.purcelllab.ucr.edu/ Purcell Lab ENTM 199 Project Description
Dr. Erin Wilson Rankin (erin.rankin@ucr.edu) http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~eewilson/ Rankin Lab ENTM 199 Project Description