“Our newest fellows represent the very best of UC Davis and I congratulate them,” Chancellor Gary S. May said in announcing the new fellows in a UC Davis news release. “The knowledge, expertise and excellence these faculty demonstrate across a range of disciplines positively impacts our university's mission of research, teaching and public service.”
Eleven of the 13 are associate professors and two are professors. Vannette is the only Chancellor's Fellow selected in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Of the 13, five represent the College of Letters and Science.
"An international leader in microbial ecology, she studies interactions between plants, insects and microbes," according to the news release. "Her research projects focus on the chemical an microbial ecology of plant-pollinator interactions and how microbes influence plant defense and resistance against insect pests. For example her research found that microbial species on plants contribute to floral scent and influence the attractiveness of nectar to pollinators."
"It is no exaggeration to say that Dr. Vannette is a rising star in the biological and agricultural sciences at UC Davis," said Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The 2022-23 Chancellor's Fellows:
Marcela Cuellar, associate professor, School of Education
Melanie Gareau, associate professor, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine
J. Sebastian Gomez-Diaz, associate professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
Rana Jaleel, associate professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, College of Letters and Science
Wilsaan Joiner, professor, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences
Xiaodong Li, associate professor, Department of Statistics, College of Letters and Science
David Olson, associate professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Letters and Science
Caitlin Patler, associate professor, Department of Sociology, College of Letters and Science
Jessica Bissett Perea, associate professor, Department of Native American Studies, College of Letters and Science
Zubair Shafiq, associate professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering
Karen Shapiro, associate professor, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine
Aaron Tang, professor, School of Law
Rachel Vannette, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Vannette, who holds a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology (2011) from the University of Michigan, was selected a UC Davis Hellman Fellow in 2018.
"All plants are colonized by microorganisms that influence plant traits and interactions with other species, including insects that consume or pollinate plants," she says. "I am interested in the basic and applied aspects of microbial contributions to the interaction between plants and insects. I also use these systems to answer basic ecological questions, such as what mechanisms influence plant biodiversity and trait evolution."
The Vannette lab is a team of entomologists, microbiologists, chemical ecologists, and community ecologists trying to understand how microbial communities affect plants and insects.
“Much of the work in my lab focuses on how microorganisms affect plant defense against herbivores and plant attraction to pollinators,” Vannette related. “For example, we are interested in understanding the microbial drivers of soil health, which can influence plant attractiveness to herbivores and the plant's ability to tolerate or defend against damage by herbivores. In addition, we are working to examine how microorganisms modify flower attractiveness to pollinators. This may have relevance in agricultural systems to improve plant and pollinator health.”
Her recent research grants include two from the National Science Federation (NSF). One is a five-year Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award, titled “Nectar Chemistry and Ecological and Evolutionary Tradeoffs in Plant Adaptation to Microbes and Pollinators.” The other is a three-year collaborative grant, “The Brood Cell Microbiome of Solitary Bees: Origin, Diversity, Function, and Vulnerability.”
"UC Davis has named 191 faculty members as Chancellor's Fellows over the program's 23-year history, with philanthropic support from the UC Davis Annual Fund, Davis Chancellor's Club and the UC Davis Parents Fund," according to the UC Davis news story.
The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology earlier celebrated two Chancellor's Fellows:
2019: Molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, then associate professor and now professor and vice chair of the department
2015: Pollinator ecologist Neal Williams, then associate professor and now professor