Faculty Mentors
Dr. Spencer T. Behmer — Insect Physiology
My research focuses on insect physiology and behavior, including their ecological and evolutionary bases. My approach is "bottom-up", with an emphasis on using individual behavior as a tool to understand physiological and higher-level processes. My lab pursues three broadly defined areas of research: 1) insect physiological ecology, 2) insect sterol/cholesterol biology, and 3) the mechanisms of learning in insects. We use a number of different insects, including grasshoppers, caterpillars, sucking insects and ants.
Undergraduate students in my lab would work on research in the areas of 1) physiological ecology and 2) the insect behavior. For these projects grasshoppers are the model organisms, and students would conduct rearing and observational experiments using precisely defined synthetic foods. Upon completion of work in my lab, students will have developed an understanding of experimental design and whole organismal physiology, and will learn some simple biochemical analyses related to nutrient intake.
Dr. Craig Coates — Genetic Transformation Systems
One of the primary research areas in the Coates laboratory is the development of chimeric insect transposases that integrate into host genomes in a site-specific manner. This work has applications in the fields of insect transgenesis and human gene therapy. The ability to introduce transgenes into host genomes at specific sites would remove problems associated with the inactivation or miss-expression of both transgenes and endogenous genes that often occurs through random integration events. We have produced transgenic mice that contain a target sequence integrated on the mouse chromosomes. Fibroblast cell lines were produced from the transgenic mice and chimeric transposase constructs will be introduced into the cultured cells to determine if site-specific integration can be achieved at the desired target sequence. The goal of this project is to determine the frequencies of site-specific integration and off-target integration.
Dr. Micky Eubanks — Community Ecology
Most of my research reflects my fascination with variation in species interactions. As biologists attempt to quantify and predict the ecological and evolutionary consequences of species interactions, they often have to cope with high levels of variation. My work on variation in interaction strength seeks to accurately predict the results of interactions among arthropods in highly connected food webs. This work addresses fundamental questions in community ecology while also providing the means to predict the outcome of complex interactions in managed systems. On-going projects in the lab include the effects of mutualisms on the invasion ecology of fire ants and Argentine ants, the effects of aphid-induced changes in plant chemistry on other herbivores of crop plants, and an investigation of constraints on the evolution of anti-herbivore plant traits.
Dr. Raul Medina — Pest Species Population Genetics
My research interests center on the role of predators and parasitoids in the regulation of herbivore insect populations and, in particular, how host-plants influence these interactions. My current research focuses on population genetic aspects of insect herbivores and their natural enemies. One of the research lines in my laboratory involves the study of the evolution of host ranges in parasitoid and hyperparasitoid species. Projects involving specialist and generalist parasitoids of Lepidoptera in Maryland, Northern Italy and in Finland are allowing us to increase our knowledge on the influence of host-range in the population dynamics of parasitoids and hyperparasitoid species.
The NSF-REU student joining our lab this summer is expected to contribute to this project by finding out if the population structure of parasitoid species differs between generalist and specialist parasitoids co-occurring in the same geographic areas. We hypothesize that specialist parasitoids will present a more structured population than generalist parasitoids. The NSF-REU student that joins our lab will learn to extract DNA, to do PCRs, and to use population genetic and molecular analysis software to analyze her/his data. The results obtained by the student will be presented in a poster at the Entomological Society of America meeting in Indianapolis at the end of the year.
Dr. Patricia Pietrantonio — Physiology and Toxicology of Arthropod Vectors
The student will have several options for projects within the area of "Physiology and toxicology of arthropods vectors of pathogens causative of disease: molecular biology and RNA interference" The student will determine the physiological importance of GPCRs in the whole organism. Student will learn molecular biology, cloning, dsRNA synthesis. The student will conduct RNA interference experiments with the aid of graduate students in the laboratory. The student can choose from several options within the broad spectrum of research in the laboratory from organismal to molecular. Preference will be given to students with some background in biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology. Students wishing to apply to Medical School in the future will find this experience particularly rewarding.
Dr. Michel Slotman — Evolutionary Genetics of Malaria Vectors
The Slotman Lab is interested in the evolutionary genetics of malaria vectors. 
Among other projects were are conducting a population genetic analysis of the salt-water breeding An. melas, which is a locally important malaria vector in West Africa. This project involves designing and testing PCR primers for microsatellite loci, as well as genotyping An. melas populations from various West-Africa countries. This project is being executed in the context of a nation-wide malaria control program in Equatorial Guinea. One of the overarching goals of the project is to estimate migration rates between An. melas populations. In particular, we are interested in determining the probability of re-investation of Bioko Island, the economic and political center of Equatorial Guinea, from the continent.
Dr. Cecilia Tamborindeguy — Genetics of Insect-Plant Vector Disease Transmission
Our research focuses in identifying and validating aphid proteins involved in virus transmission. The main objective is to identify the aphid components responsible for virus transmission and their function. Several candidates have been identified using different approaches, but their involvement in virus transmission remains to be demonstrated.
The NSF-REU student joining our lab this summer is expected to contribute to this project by further analyzing the involvement of some of these candidates in virus transmission. The ability of the candidates to specifically interact with several viruses will be tested. The NSF-REU student that joins our lab will learn bioinformatics skills and will gain experience in some molecular biology techniques such as PCR, cloning, protein expression and purification and protein-protein interaction.
Dr. Jeffery Tomberlin—Forensic Entomology FLIES Laboratory (Forensic Laboratory for Investigative Entomological Sciences)
One aspect of Forensic Entomology is the use of insect evidence collected from decomposing human remains to predict the minimum time of death. Dr. Tomberlin represents one of fifteen board certified forensic entomologists in North America, and he is also a Fellow within the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Research in the FLIES Laboratory (Forensic Laboratory for Investigative Entomological Sciences) currently is focused on elucidating the ecological mechanisms governing colonization and succession patterns of human remains by arthropods. Three primary paths of research related to forensically important arthropods are currently being pursued in Dr. Tomberlin's laboratory: 1) microbial arthropod interactions, 2) resource-insect interactions, and 3) ecological modeling of the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on the colonization of human remains by arthropods in order to understand the phenomena of delayed colonization. Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are currently the model insects used for research in his laboratory.
Undergraduates that work in Dr. Tomberlin's laboratory will have the opportunity to conduct research on blow flies examining either the, 1) non-consumptive and consumptive effects of predatory larvae, Chrysoma rufifacies, on the development of Cochliomyia macellaria larvae, 2) influence of microbes on development of either of these blow fly species, or 3) their learning ability.
Time permitting undergraduates will have numerous opportunities to learn about the forensic sciences. These opportunities include interacting with graduate students conducting forensically relevant research and attending workshops on various aspects of the forensic sciences.
Dr. Tomberlin's goal for students completing the REU experience will be for them to come away with a basic understanding of forensic entomology. They should also gain an understanding of how to design and conduct research in forensic entomology, as well as how to analyze data and prepare information in manuscript format.
Dr. Robert Wharton — Systematics of Parasitic Wasps
My laboratory is primarily engaged in systematics research on entomophagous insects, with a focus on members of the parasitic wasp families Braconidae and Ichneumonidae. Potential projects that could be undertaken in my laboratory this summer include preparation of descriptions of previously undescribed species and development of multiple entry keys for selected taxa of Braconidae. We have capabilities for web-based delivery of our research efforts, and students can also gain experience in that aspect of systematics research.
Dr. Keyan Zhu-Salzman — Plant-Insect Interactions
Current research activity:My laboratory conducts research in insect-plant interaction area. Over millions of years of co-evolution with insects, plants have developed various defense machineries that can be activated in response to insect herbivory. Insects, in turn, have developed a variety of strategies to evade these plant defense mechanisms. An improved understanding of this complex plant defense and insect counter-defense relationship will facilitate development of better strategies to improve host plant defense. Currently, we are using Arabidopsis to study plant defense signal transduction pathways against insect pests. Meanwhile, since effectiveness of plant defense is also determined by the insect response, my laboratory is also investigating how insects adapt to the challenge of plant defense molecules, as well as to human imposed management strategies, and is working to identify new insect vulnerable systems.
Potential projects for REU students: The REU students will participate research in (i) understanding how insect overcome plant defense compounds at molecular level; (ii) studying plant defense signal transduction. Initially, they will learn routine techniques. Later they will participate in gene cloning, protein expression, cDNA microarray, data analysis and transcriptional regulation research projects. The students' daily activity will be directed by the postdoc associates and the graduate student currently in my lab. The REU students will meet with the PI once a week to discuss their progress and problems they encounter. They are required to attend weekly lab meeting. They will co-author publications generated from the projects that they are involved.