- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Eligible to apply are first and second-year students and new transfer students interested in a one-on-one training and mentorship in insect biology.
The program can provide the opportunity to learn research skills in all areas of biology, including behavior and ecology, biodiversity, agroecology, population biology, mathematical biology, human health, cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, said co-director and co-founder Jay Rosenheim, professor of entomology, Department of Entomology and Nematology, UC Davis.
Details are at http://ucanr.org/sites/insectscholars/
West, majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, works in the Chiu lab on the Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii or SWD), a serious pest of fruit crops. In collaboration with scientists in the U.S. and around the world, including Frank Zalom, UC Davis professor of entomology, West is surveying populations of SWD using next-generation sequencing to determine the extent of possible insecticide resistance.
West was one of eight students among a pool of 50 selected to be a member of the Class of 2013, Research Scholars in Insect Biology Program.