Michelle Sanford and Micah Flores collecting Chrysomya rufifacies larvae.
Bart Drees, right, with Carol Sutherland, far left, and David Thompson, center, during a Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America meeting.
Texas AgriLife Entomologist and Department Gain Recognition with the Entomological Society of America
Congratulations to Bart Drees and Michelle Sanford for their outstanding achievements within the Entomological Society of America (ESA).
Professor and Extension specialist Dr. Bastiaan "Bart" Drees was elected to be the Southwestern Branch representative on the ESA Governing Board and Ph.D. student Michelle Sanford was announced as the latest recipient of the John Henry Comstock Award by the Southwestern Branch.
Drees will represent the Southwestern Branch of the ESA, which covers New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma, as well as parts of Mexico. He was elected during a summer election which ended in August.
Drees presents educational programs to promote the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in agricultural production systems and urban environments, and has state-wide responsibility to conduct and coordinate Texas AgriLife Extension Service programs relating to the red imported fire ant and landscape design and maintenance IPM.
Throughout his career, Drees has been heavily involved in activities of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) and the Society for Southwestern Entomologists (SSWE), serving as President of SSWE in 2003 and of the Southwestern Branch of ESA in 2005.
He has received numerous awards. In 1997, Drees received the ESA Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension, and in 1999 Drees received the Regents Fellow Service Award in Extension from the Texas A&M System's Board of Regents. In 2003, he was a recipient of the Integrated Pest Management Team Award, sponsored by Dow AgroSciences and presented by the Entomological Foundation.
"I'm excited about serving on the ESA Governing Board and continuing the outstanding job accomplished by Dr. Marvin Harris during his term," Drees said. "I hope to serve as a voice for the Southwestern Branch of the Society and addressing any concerns members may have."
Drees will be a liaison between members of the Southwestern branch and the national officers on important entomological issues.
"I am eager to do my part to improve the society through this opportunity to serve as a member of the Board," he said.
Drees will begin serving his three-year term on the Board at the closing session of the national meeting in Indianapolis in December.
"We are fortunate to have dedicated ESA members like Bart here at TAMU willing to devote part of their time and talents to serve our needs," said Dr. Marvin Harris, outgoing member of the Governing Board for the Southwestern Branch.
Sanford received the ESA's honored John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award for her outstanding work as a graduate student. Her dissertation work involves the examination of olfactory conditioning in mosquitoes with emphasis on the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus (Say).
Sanford is examining the breadth and variables important to appetitive olfactory conditioning. Her research has also examined the interaction between non-consumptive predatory effects, larval experience, and adult oviposition preference in Cx. quinquefasciatus. This research also led to the opportunity to undertake a Fulbright research fellowship to Thailand to examine olfactory conditioning in Anopheline mosquitoes. She has six peer-reviewed publications with several more in preparation and plans to complete her doctoral work in May, 2010.
Sanford is currently working with Dr. Jeff Tomberlin in the Forensic Laboratory for Investigative Entomological Sciences, or FLIES Lab.
"I am truly proud of Michelle and all that she has accomplished since arriving in my laboratory as a PhD student. This award is a direct reflection of her hard work and dedication to her research," said Dr. Jeff Tomberlin. "Michelle has a very bright future as an entomologist and researcher."
Each year five students are selected for the John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Awards. The award is a way to help promote interest in entomology at the graduate level and to allow a student to attend the annual meeting.
"I am honored to receive the Comstock award for the Southwestern Branch," Sanford said. "The list of previous recipients contains the names of many great entomologists and I am honored to be among them."