- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
In images, text, and analogies.
“Just like in a honey bee colony, it takes a team to win an award," he said, and graciously proceeded to thank all those who made it possible. Family, friends, students, postdoctoral fellows, colleagues, staff and more. Or, as he said "work performed by the cast of thousands deserve the distinguished research award."
Leal, former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology) joined the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology faculty in 2013. He is first UC Davis faculty member to win Academic Senate's trifecta of coveted awards: Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching (2020), Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award (2022) and now, the Faculty Distinguished Research Award.
A week before the seminar, Leal was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
“Dr. Leal is an internationally recognized entomologist and a world leader in his field for his groundbreaking and transformative research in insect olfaction and chemical ecology,” said UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock, who nominated Leal for the Faculty Distinguished Research Award.
Leal credits Hammock, a 25-year friend and colleague, as instrumental in “luring” him from his tenured position in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Japan, to the Department of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology) in 2000. A native of Brazil, Leal received his Ph.D. in applied biochemistry from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, with subsequent postdoctoral training in entomology and chemical ecology at the National Institute of Sericultural and Entomological Science and Cornell University, respectively.
In his letter of nomination, Hammock pointed out "I especially applaud him for elucidating the mode of action of the insect repellent DEET, developed in 1946 and known as ‘the gold standard of repellents.' Its mode of action remained an enigma for six decades until Walter's discovery. In researching the neurons in mosquito antennae sensitive to DEET, he isolated the first DEET-sensitive odorant receptor, paving the way for the development of better repellents.”
Leal's analogy of bees working together to succeed, just like what occurs in a successful lab, is spot on. The worker bees inside the hive perform specific duties: nurse maids, nannies, royal attendants, builders, architects, foragers, dancers, honey tenders, pollen packers, propolis or "glue" specialists, air conditioning and heating technicians, guards, and undertakers.
As an aside, Leal mentioned that one research project in his lab involved his daughter Helena, honey bees and her shampoo. “Helena always said the bees were bothering her and then when we collected the volatiles from her, we noticed that there was a contaminant, isoamyl acetate,” Leal told the crowd. “To make a long story short, isoamyl acetate is a chemical that elicits a very aggressive behavior. It's called a sting pheromone known from the early 1960s, and we figured out that that chemical was coming from a shampoo that she was using at that time--the so-called Aussie. So, she stopped using that shampoo and there was no problem with the bees anymore.”
Read more about his lecture here and watch his lecture at https://youtu.be/HkfhsYQE5bI.
![UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal delivering his Academic Senate Faculty Distinguished Research Award lecture. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal delivering his Academic Senate Faculty Distinguished Research Award lecture. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/107146.jpg)
![Inside a honey bee colony: worker bees and the queen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Inside a honey bee colony: worker bees and the queen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/107148.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
“I got two phone calls almost simultaneously on my two cell phones, so I thought this could not be a prank, but I am still in disbelief,” said Leal, a UC Davis distinguished professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology (now Entomology and Nematology)
The caller: The National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
The message: You've been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest honor a scientist can achieve.
"Members are elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research,” a spokesperson related. “Membership is a widely accepted mark of excellence in science and is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive. Current NAS membership totals approximately 2,400 members and 500 international members, of which approximately 190 have received Nobel prizes."
“As they say, many deserving and few lucky ones," Leal commented. "Bruce Hammock told me many years ago that when he was elected to NAS, he looked around and saw many deserving colleagues. Now I understand that feeling very well. It is a tremendous and humbling honor. I hope an imposter syndrome does not kick in.”
Hammock, a UC Davis distinguished professor who holds a joint appointment with the Department of Entomology and Nematology, was elected a NAS member in 1999.
They are the only UC Davis entomologists who are NAS members.
Leal: World Leader in His Field
Leal, a native of Brazil and educated in Brazil, Japan and the United States, joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 2000. In 2013, he accepted a position with the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. "Walter is an internationally recognized entomologist and a world leader in his field for his groundbreaking and transformative research in insect olfaction and chemical ecology,” Hammock said. “He is truly a renaissance man. He chaired our entomology department from 2006 to 2008, and under his tenure, our department was ranked No. 1 in the country. I've long admired (1) his rigorous fundamental research programs supported by National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture, and other agencies, (2) how he tackles and solves multiple challenging problems in insect olfaction and chemical ecology, (3) his grasp of how to organize and moderate highly successful worldwide research webinars (4) his generosity in helping other succeed and (4) his finely honed sense of humor."
Leal solves entomological problems spanning agriculture, human health, and welfare. He translates pheromone technology to agriculturists and serves as a principal investigator for the Pacific Southwest Regional Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases (affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). He holds more than 20 patents.
“Walter has been exceptionally conscientious, active, and generous in professional service at UC Davis,” Hammock pointed out. "In August of 2021, he achieved a ‘first' for international science communication when he organized and led the extraordinary virtual conference ‘Insect Olfaction and Taste in 24 Hours Around the Globe.' I especially applaud him for elucidating the mode of action of the insect repellent DEET, developed in 1946 and known as ‘the gold standard of repellents.' Its mode of action remained an enigma for six decades until Walter's discovery. In researching the neurons in mosquito antennae sensitive to DEET, he isolated the first DEET-sensitive odorant receptor, paving the way for the development of better repellents.”
May Berenbaum, professor and head, Department of Entomology, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, National Medical of Science Laureate, NAS member, and editor of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, earlier wrote that “Dr. Leal is indisputably a world leader in the field of insect chemical ecology whose work over the course of his long and distinguished career has transformed basic knowledge of insect olfactory mechanisms and inspired innovative practical applications for sustainable management of insects of importance in agriculture and human health. He has contributed significantly to the current understanding of the structure and function of every component of olfaction, including receptors, binding proteins, and degrading enzymes, revising classic paradigms along the way. No textbook and no course on insect chemical communication could be considered complete without mentioning his landmark research achievements.”
'Just Like in a Honey Bee Colony'
Leal recently was named the 2024 recipient of the UC Davis Academic Senate's Distinguished Research Award, and will present a lecture on “Just Like in a Honey Bee Colony--It Takes a Team in the UC Davis Hive to Win an Award” at the Academic Senate's Faculty Distinguished Research Award Lecture Lunch on Tuesday, May 7 from noon to 1 p.m. in the UC Davis Conference Center.
Leal is the first UC Davis faculty member to receive the Academic Senate's trifecta of awards: outstanding teaching, public service, and research. Leal received the Academic Senate's 2020 Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching, and the 2022 Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award.
Among Leal's many honors: Fellow of the Entomological Society of America (2009), American Association for the Advancement of Science (2005), and the National Academy of Inventors (2019). He was elected a trustee of the Royal Entomological Society in February 2024.
Leal holds a Ph.D. in applied biochemistry from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, with subsequent postdoctoral training in entomology and chemical ecology at the National Institute of Sericultural and Entomological Science (NISES) and Cornell University, respectively. He was the first non-Japanese person to earn tenure at Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
![UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal today (April 30, 2024) was named a member of the National Academy of Sciences. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal today (April 30, 2024) was named a member of the National Academy of Sciences. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/106411.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You'll learn which butterfly populations are struggling and which ones are doing well, and glean more information about the research of UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro, and his collaborator, Professor Matt Forister of the University of Nevada, his former doctoral student.
Shapiro has been monitoring the butterfly populations of central California since 1972. His transect of ten fixed study sites sprawls from the Sacramento River Delta, through the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada mountains, and to the high desert of the western Great Basin. The sites, Shapiro says, "represent the great biological, geological, and climatological diversity of central California."
The article is authored by entomologist Mary Louise Flint, a docent at the center and editor of the quarterly. She holds the title of professor of Cooperative Extension emerita, based in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. She served as a longtime associate director of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) until her retirement in June 2014. (See her biography on the UC IPM website).
"Over the last decade or two, scientists in many parts of the world have documented examples of declining insect num- bers—both in numbers of species (species richness) and in the number of individuals of each species (population levels)," Flint began. "Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change are usually identified as the main contributing factors, although circumstances vary among insect species and location."
"Three of Shapiro's sample sites," Flint pointed out, "are relatively close to our nature area—Rancho Cordova, near the American River across from Sacramento Bar, North Sacramento on the American River near California State University, and West Sacramento in the Yolo Bypass near the causeway. (The Rancho Cordova site is closest and most similar to Effie Yeaw in habitat.) A close study of the data collected at these sites between 1988 and 2010 showed that summer minimum temperatures and fall maximum temperatures increased significantly and precipitation decreased. During this time, species richness tended to decrease after years of high temperatures and reduced precipitation."
Among those on "the struggling list" are the monarch, Danaus plexippus; West Coast lady, Vanessa annabella; the great copper, Lycaena xanthoides; and the large marble, Euchloe ausonides. The large marble, "formerly common in the Central Valley, Delta, Bay Area and lower foothills...has suffered an unexplained crash and is teetering on the brink of regional extinction," according to Shapiro's website.
Those on the "doing well" list include the Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae; pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor; fiery skipper, Hylephila phyleus; the Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus; and the gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus.
See Flint's article for more information, and access Shapiro's research research website, and Forister's research website.
A buckeye butterfly, Junonia coenia (image by yours truly) graces the cover. Numerous other butterfly images illustrate the piece.
Shapiro recently delivered a presentation, "Using Butterflies to Understand Biotic Responses to Climate Change," at the UC Davis emeriti celebration, organized and coordinated by UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. (See Shapiro's presentation on YouTube and coverage on Bug Squad blog.)
![A pipevine swallowtail nectaring on Jupiter's beard in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A pipevine swallowtail nectaring on Jupiter's beard in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/105627.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
As mentioned earlier, two members of the Academic Senate's winners' circle are UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (and former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology), and Professor Louie Yang of the Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT).
Leal won the Distinguished Faculty Research Award (see Feb. 22 Bug Squad blog) and Yang won a Distinguished Teaching Award, undergraduate category (see Feb. 26 Bug Squad blog). UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock of ENT nominated Leal, while Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of ENT, nominated Yang.
The awards reception is Monday, May 13; more information is pending. "In all, 15 faculty members have received awards from the two groups at UC Davis," UC Davis Dateline reports. (See list of the recipients.)
Leal is the first UC Davis faculty member to win all three of the Academic Senate's most coveted awards: in research, teaching, and public service. In 2020, the Academic Senate awarded him the Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching, and in 2022 Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award.
“Dr. Leal is an internationally recognized entomologist and a world leader in his field for his groundbreaking and transformative research in insect olfaction and chemical ecology,” Hammock wrote. "Walter is truly a renaissance man. "He chaired our entomology department from 2006 to 2008, and under his tenure, our department was ranked No. 1 in the country. I've long admired (1) his rigorous fundamental research programs supported by National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture, and other agencies, (2) how he tackles and solves multiple challenging problems in insect olfaction and chemical ecology, (3) his grasp of how to organize and moderate highly successful worldwide research webinars (4) his generosity in helping other succeed and (4) his finely honed sense of humor."
Wrote Chiu: "I have watched him (Professor Yang) engage, inspire, and challenge his students, fostering creative and critical thinking like no one else I've ever seen. We deeply appreciate and admire his innovative and inclusive teaching, his exemplary work ethic, his welcoming demeanor, his dedication to his students, and his nationally recognized ecology expertise. Louie has received many well-deserved teaching and mentoring awards for his teaching contributions on and off campus.”
Of special note, too, is the James H. Meyer Distinguished Achievement Award, given annually to a member of the Academic Federation for "a distinguished record in research, teaching, and/or public service." This year the award went to Kirsten Gilardi, director of Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, and a health sciences clinical professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine.
Wrote Dateline: "Health Sciences Clinical Professor Kirsten Gilardi has been part of the UC Davis Community since 1989. She is currently the director of the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, a research, service and teaching center of excellence. In 2005, she founded the California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Program, which hires experienced commercial scuba divers to remove gear and other marine debris from near-shore waters in a safe and environmentally sensitive manner. This program continues to help reduce the potential impact of losing fishing gear and marine debris on living marine resources and underwater habitat. Beyond her significant accomplishments in her field, her colleagues around the world highlight her passion for her position at UC Davis 'that expects her to protect wild animals and wild places.'"
Check out the Dateline website which includes a 2013 image of Gilardi with a silverback gorilla (image courtesy of Sandy Buckey.)
They all do UC Davis proud!
![Recipients of the 2024 Academic Senate and Federation Awards include UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal (top row, far left) and Professor Louie Yang (top row, fifth from left.)(Collage courtesy of UC Davis Dateline) Recipients of the 2024 Academic Senate and Federation Awards include UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal (top row, far left) and Professor Louie Yang (top row, fifth from left.)(Collage courtesy of UC Davis Dateline)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/105609.png)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
When UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology organized and hosted an emeriti celebration honoring professors who recently transitioned to emeriti, he didn't stop when the presentations ended.
Leal invited his biochemistry students that he's teaching this quarter to summarize, in a short video, one of the emerti lectures. "I let them decide which one," he said. "They submitted 45 videos and covered all the speakers." The event, held in the International Center, celebrated 73 faculty who retired in the 2022-2023 cohort. Chancellor Gary May welcomed the crowd, and paid tribute to the new retirees and their accomplishments.
Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus, who has monitored butterfly populations in Central California since 1972, spoke on "Using Butterflies to Understand Biotic Responses to Climate Change." He recently retired from the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology faculty, but continues his research with his former doctoral student, Professor Matt Forister of the University of Nevada. Shapiro maintains a research website at https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu. (Read his emeriti presentation on the March 11th Bug Squad blog)
So which student chose to comment on Shapiro's presentation? A butterfly enthusiast: Elly Fry-Ross, a third-year biochemistry and molecular biology major with a minor in psychology.
And butterflies? "I've always loved butterflies ever since I was little," Elly said, adding that the colors fascinate her. "My parents used to take me to the rainforest exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences to see the butterflies and hopefully have one land on me!"
And every year on campus, Elly attends the butterfly and moth exhibit at the Bohart Museum of Entomology during the annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day and during the campuswide Picnic Day, which this year is Saturday, April 20. (This year the Bohart Museum will be closed on Picnic Day, but will move its activities to a pop-up tent at Briggs Hall.)
Elly's career plans? To enroll in a medical school and become a physician.
See the student videos at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1LZbErkx28
Emeriti Celebration Links
00:00 Getting ready to start 00:15 Opening remarks, Walter Leal 03:26 Land Acknowledgment 06:35 Chancellor Gary May 8:50 Cal Qualset 11:40 Paul Gepts presentation 42:37 Robert Szabo's impromptu remarks 45:40 Bruce Hammock 47:45 Isaac Pessah 1:15:40 Congratulations on your retirement, Jay Lund! 1:18:12 William (Bill) Lacy 1:22:05 Ines Hernandez-Avila 1:52:59 Ken Burtis 1:57:10 Art Shapiro 2:20:50 Q&A 2:28:50 Art Shapiro's additional remarks 2:29:44 Emeriti Napkin 2:29:57 UCDEA Video Recording Interview
Afternoon Session
https://youtu.be/AMs2Q1bimxA
00:00 Highlights of the luncheon 01:20 Suad Joseph, UCDEA 13:16 Mont Hubbard 16:40 Simon Cherry 51:44 Jeffery Gibeling 56:52 Subhash Risbud 1:23:25 Snapshot with undergraduate students 1:23:48 Clark Lagarias 1:26:19 Anne Britt 2:00:30 Sascha Nicklisch 2:03:53 Ron Tjeerdema 2:36:30 Edward Callahan 2:40:45 Andres Sciolla 3:09:41 Mary Croughan 3:18:10 Walter Leal 3:18:55 After the event
![A male monarch butterfly nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A male monarch butterfly nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/105437.jpg)