- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Agre shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering aquaporins, a family of water-channel proteins found throughout nature that underlie numerous physiological processes and clinical disorders. He is deeply involved in multiple global issues, and is the current director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, which conducts research in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
From 2005-2008, Agre chaired the Committee on Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences and led efforts on behalf of imprisoned scientists, engineers, and health professionals worldwide. He has also participated in diplomatic visits and meetings with leaders of Cuba, North Korea, Myanmar, and Iran.
A past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Agre is an ambassador for science. He has given numerous lectures and presentations, and has even appeared on the TV program The Colbert Report.
“We are honored to have Dr. Peter Agre as our keynote speaker,” said UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal, co-chair of ICE 2016. “This will be a historic event with more than 6,000 attendees, and we look forward to hearing about Dr. Agre's efforts to control malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 600,000 people each year.”
“Controlling malaria is definitely one of the grand challenges in the field of entomology,” said ICE 2016 co-chair Alvin Simmons. “Dr. Agre's perspectives as a scientist and as a communicator will be well appreciated by the thousands of international insect scientists and others who will be in attendance. ICE 2016 will be a student-friendly event, and Dr. Agre is approachable for one-on-one conversations with students.”
ICE 2016 will be the largest gathering of entomologists in history, as it will be co-located with the annual meetings of the Entomological Society of America and the Entomological Society of Canada, along with events hosted by the Entomological Societies of China, Brazil, Australia, and others.--Richard Levine, ESA
(Editor's Note: The two co-chairs planning the ICE conference are Walter Leal, former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and now with the Department of Molecular and Cellullar Biology, and Alvin Simmons, research entomologist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, S.C.)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
They are:
- Nilsa A. Bosque-Pérez, professor, Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences at the University of Idaho. She received two degrees from UC Davis: her master's degree in 1981 and Ph.D. in 1985.
- Gary Felton, professor and head of the Department of Entomology at Penn State University. He received his doctorate from UC Davis in 1988. In 2010, he delivered the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Lecture at UC Davis
- Murray B. Isman, professor of entomology and toxicology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He received his doctorate from UC Davis in 1981. In 2012, he delivered the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Lecture at UC Davis
The ESA governing board announced its selections today (July 30). The election as a Fellow acknowledges outstanding contributions to entomology in one or more of the following: research, teaching, extension, or administration.
The Fellows will be recognized at the ESA's 62nd annual meeting, to be held Nov. 16-14 in Portland, Ore. President of the organization is integrated pest management specialist Frank Zalom, distinguished professor of entomology at UC Davis.
Information provided by the Fellows for the ESA news release:
Bosque-Pérez is internationally known for her research on insect-host plant interactions, insect vectors of plant viruses, and host plant resistance to insects and pathogens. She is additionally recognized for her distinguished contributions to interdisciplinary graduate education.
Born in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico in 1957, she spent her early years living at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Agricultural Experiment Station in Adjuntas, where her father served as agronomist and director. Following in her father's footsteps, she obtained a B.S. in agricultural sciences from UPR Mayagüez (1979). She then attended UC Davis, where she received her M.S. (1981) and Ph.D. (1985) in entomology. In 1985, she joined the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria, where she worked for 11 years as a member of a multidisciplinary team of scientists working to increase food production, productivity, and sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa. Bosque-Pérez joined the UI faculty in 1997 and attained the rank of full professor in 2006. She served as interim dean of the UI College of Graduate Studies from 2010 to 2011.
Bosque-Pérez has contributed to fundamental discoveries in the field of host plant-virus-vector interactions, including demonstrating that transgenic virus resistance can influence vector life history and production of plant volatiles to which vectors respond. Additionally, her lab group was the first to demonstrate that plant viruses can directly alter host plant selection behavior by vectors, indicating that plant viruses can manipulate vectors to enhance their spread. These findings open new doors for the study of host plant-virus-vector interactions as well as disease and vector management. Her research group also studies the impact of management practices and landscape elements on arthropod biodiversity in temperate and tropical regions. She has published more than 155 scientific papers and book chapters. A devoted student mentor, she has guided 14 graduate students as a major professor and 37 as a graduate committee member. She has served as project director and student mentor of two NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) projects that created unique educational and research infrastructures to facilitate interdisciplinary team research by doctoral students.
Bosque-Pérez has been an invited speaker at conferences and scientific venues around the world, and has authored or co-authored 110 invited and more than 260 contributed presentations. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and her many awards include the ESA Recognition Award in Entomology (2006), the University of Idaho Award for Excellence in Interdisciplinary or Collaborative Efforts (2011), and the ESA Pacific Branch Award for Distinction in Student Mentoring (2012). She has served ESA as a member of the Journal of Medical Entomology Editorial Board (1999-2003), as a subject editor for the Journal of Economic Entomology (2010-2011), and as a member of the International Affairs Committee (2000-2002) and the Pacific Branch Executive Committee (2007-2009). She also served as guest editor of Virus Research (2011, 2013-2014). She is the proud aunt of 13 nephews and nieces and two grandnieces, and she enjoys traveling and birdwatching.
Felton is internationally recognized for his research on insect-plant interactions, and in particular for his research which focuses on the role of herbivore saliva in evading plant defenses.
Born in Norfolk, Va., in 1953, but raised in California, Felton completed his B.S. in biology in 1975 at UC Irvine, where he was inspired to study insect physiology by the late Howard Schneiderman. After taking several years off from his education to start a family, Felton completed his M.S. in entomology in 1983 at the University of Kentucky, where he studied under Douglas Dahlman. He then moved to UC Davis, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1988 with Sean Duffey (now deceased). Felton completed a short postdoctoral study with Duffey, and then in 1990 he accepted the position of assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Arkansas. He attained the rank of full professor in 1998 and then accepted the position as professor and head of Entomology at Penn State University in 2000.
Felton's research focuses on mechanisms of plant defense and the adaptations that herbivorous insects use to avoid them. This research has uncovered unique ways in which insect herbivores use salivary secretions to suppress the induced responses of their host plants and has been published in journals such as Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. He has published more than 100 refereed papers, including numerous review articles for book chapters and journals such as Plant Physiology, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, and Annual Plant Reviews.
Felton has been an invited speaker for numerous national and international professional meetings. He is a recipient of distinguished alumni awards from the Departments of Entomology at UC Davis and the University of Kentucky.
In his role as head of Entomology at Penn State, Felton has seen the department grow to a staff of more than 170, including 24 tenure-track faculty, more than 50 graduate students, and more than 40 additional Ph.D. level scientists. The department is known for its strengths in chemical ecology, pollinator health, vectors of infectious disease, and pest management and ecology.
Felton has served the ESA and his profession in numerous roles, including as subject editor for Environmental Entomology, Arthropod Plant Interactions, and the Archives of Insect Physiology, and Biochemistry. He has organized multiple symposia and conferences for ESA annual meetings. In addition to service as a panel member for USDA and NSF programs, he has served twice as panel manager for the USDA NRI/AFRI program. He has two children, Derek and Jessica, and is married to Dawn Luthe. He loves to travel, to sample new foods, to listen to music (blues is the best), and to experience art of all styles.
Isman is internationally recognized for his research on the discovery and development of botanical insecticides and antifeedants, and in the areas of insect-plant chemical interactions and insect chemical ecology.
Born in Vancouver, Canada on June 14, 1953, he attended the University of British Columbia, receiving his B.S. degree in 1975 and his M.S. degree in 1977. He then enrolled at UC Davis, earning a Ph.D. in entomology in 1981, followed by a postdoctoral position in insect toxicology at UC Irvine. In 1983 he accepted a position as assistant professor in the Department of Plant Science at UBC, attaining the rank of professor in 1994. He later served as dean of the faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC from 2005 to 2014.
Early in his career he became known for his thorough studies on neem insecticides and azadirachtin, helping to bring some clarity to a field of investigation that had been characterized by research of variable quality, dubious claims, and highly redundant work. More recently he worked with a team of investigators that provided the R&D support for EcoSMART Technologies Inc., propelling the company to become the world leader in pesticides based on plant essential oils. Along the way, Isman became an authority on the development of pesticides based on these natural products, but he has always maintained some basic research on insects, leading to some fascinating observations on insect feeding and oviposition behavior, insect memory, and the metabolism of plant toxins by insects.
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He has presided over the International Society of Chemical Ecology (2002), the Phytochemical Society of North America (1993; he remains the only entomologist to have done so), and the Entomological Society of British Columbia twice (1988 and 1999). He also organized and chaired two conferences in Vancouver -- the 14th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology (1997) and the Fourth World Neem Conference (1999).
Isman and his wife Susie, have a daughter, Carly, and son, Adam. He list his hobbies as ice hockey (he and Adam are both goaltenders), motorsports, contemporary and native art, and fine wine.
Others selected:
- Phillip G. Lawyer recently retired as core staff scientist/medical entomologist at the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIAID, NIH, from which he also served the Division of Entomology at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR)
- Tong-Xian Liu, known as “T.-X.,” is a national distinguished professor of entomology at Northwest A&F University (Yangling, Shaanxi, China)
- Nancy A. Moran is a professor at the University of Texas. She is internationally recognized for her research on symbiosis between insects and bacteria.
- Subba Reddy Palli, a professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky, is internationally recognized for his research on hormonal regulation of molting, metamorphosis and reproduction, development of ecdysone receptor-based gene switches, and RNAi-based pest management methods.
- Hari C. Sharma is a principal scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Telangana, India
- Myron (pronounced Meron) P. Zalucki, a professor at the University of Queensland, is internationally recognized for his research on basic and applied aspects of insect-plant interactions, primarily in the Lepidoptera, and particularly on monarch butterflies and pest heliothines.
- Kun Yan Zhu, a professor of entomology at Kansas State University, is internationally recognized for his research on insect molecular toxicology
The Entomological Society of America, founded in 1889, is the world's largest organization serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Its nearly 7,000 members are affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists.
(Editor's Note: Richard Levine of ESA provided much of the information for this news story)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Distinguished professors are scholars whose work has been internationally recognized and acclaimed and whose teaching is excellent. The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology now has four distinguished professors: entomologists Bruce Hammock, Frank Zalom and Thomas Scott and nematologist Howard Ferris.
Scott, internationally known for his work with on the ecology and epidemiology of dengue, joined the then UC Davis Department of Entomology 18 years ago. He focuses his work on contributing to improved public health in the United States and in the developing world, where resources are inadequate and help is desperately needed.
“What began as an interest in the ecology of infectious disease--working as a graduate student for the Centers of Disease Control, receiving a doctorate in ecology from Pennsylvania State University, and serving as an epidemiology post-doc at the Yale School of Medicine--expanded into my current objective of applying innovative science to enhanced disease prevention and constructive contributions to the debate over improved public health policy,” Scott said.
His expertise centers on mosquito-transmitted disease; the bulk of his work is on dengue. Each year, 3.97 billion people in 128 countries are at risk, and an estimated 390 million people are infected with this mosquito-borne virus.
Scott teaches the high successful Medical Entomology (ENT 153) class at UC Davis. He focuses his research on epidemiology of mosquito-borne viral disease, mosquito ecology, evolution of mosquito-virus interactions, and evaluation of novel products and strategies for disease control.
“I aim to generate the detailed, difficult to obtain data that are necessary for assessing current recommendations for disease prevention, rigorously testing fundamental assumptions in public health policy, and developing innovative, cost, and operationally effective strategic concepts for prevention of mosquito-borne disease,” he said. For more than 35 years he has conducted arbovirus research, with an emphasis on dengue since 1990 in Asia (Thailand for the past 25 years) and Latin America (Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Peru for the past 23 years). He works closely with the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California and the Thai and Peruvian Ministries of Health.
Scott directed two long-term dengue cohort studies in Peru and Thailand. “One of our key innovations,” he said, “was the development of a way to rapidly identify active human infections and study virus transmission dynamics across communities. “Our geographic cluster and contact tracing study designs are changing the way people investigate dengue epidemiology and are providing new insights into virus invasion, amplification, and epidemic transmission, all of which influence the design of improved disease prevention programs.”
A common theme in his dengue epidemiology research is the importance of heterogeneities in patterns of human infection, how variation in these kinds of factors affects trends in dengue transmission, and whether data on this topic can be captured and applied in an operationally amenable way.
“Research in Thailand showed that dengue transmission is remarkably focal, helped explain patterns of human and mosquito infection, and is consistent with targeting interventions for improved disease prevention. Complementary research in Thailand defined patterns in mosquito production and virus infection, gene-by-gene interactions during mosquito infection, the impact of mosquito infection on virus evolution, and the impact of daily temperature fluctuations on mosquito infection and transmission.”
“Results from human movement studies are the basis for designing, parameterizing, and testing quantitative network models on virus transmission dynamics, surveillance, and prevention and of interest for application to other infectious diseases.”
Scott is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Entomological Society of America (ESA). He served as an editor for the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Journal of Insect Science, and Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association; and is included in Who's Who in America.
In addition, he was a standing member of the United States–Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program Parasitic Diseases Panel; past president of the Society for Vector Ecology; chair of the Medical and Veterinary Entomology section of ESA; a standing member on the Program Committee for the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and a member of the Robert E. Shope International Fellowship in Infectious Diseases Committee.
Scott is often asked to review grant proposals for a variety of funding agencies: National Institutes of Health; National Science Foundation; Institut Pasteur, France; Netherlands Foundation for Science and Global Development; Medical Research Council (UK), and Wellcome Trust.
Scott is currently serving an 8-year term on the Council of the International Congresses of Entomology. Recently, he was appointed to the Steering Committee of the newly formed Partnership for Dengue Control, a consolidation of vaccine developers, novel mosquito interventions, international health funders (Gates and Carlos Slim Foundations), and experts on dengue prevention. Scott was also singled out to lead a comprehensive assessment of current and project mosquito interventions for dengue and develop the conceptual basis for feasibility trials that combine mosquito control and vaccines for dengue prevention.
Scott works closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) in several of its mosquito-borne disease and dengue prevention programs: the Vector Control Advisory Group and the program to Estimate the Global Burden of Dengue.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bruce's Big Battle at Briggs, which draws professors, researchers, visiting scientists, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students and undergraduate students and their friends and families, showcases what the internationally known Hammock lab does for camaraderie and fun.
The event amounts to a 10-minute break from their 52 weeks of scientific work.
The water warriors are so proficient that the event actually spans about 8 to 9 minutes, said organizer Christophe Morisseau, associate research scientist.
Hammock, a distinguished professor of entomology who holds a joint appointment with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, launched the water balloon fest in 2003 as a way to build camaraderie and gain relief from the heat. Temperatures soared to 98 degrees on Thursday, July 24, the afternoon of the battle.
For the occasion, the water warriors first filled 2000 small water balloons on the Briggs Hall lawn.
“We did try filling the balloons differently this year to conserve water,” said Hammock lab program manager Cindy McReynolds. “We devised a filling station out of drip line and valves so we could fill the balloons outside and also turn off the water when not in use.”
Thirty-nine people comprise the Hammock lab: 11 postdoctoral fellows, 8 research staff, 7 visiting scholars, 4 graduate students, 4 undergraduates, 4 staff and one part-time student assistant.
The Hammock lab has always enjoyed an international presence. Of the researchers this year, 8 are from China, 3 from France, 2 from Hong Kong, 2 from the Ukraine, and 1 each from India, Japan and Canada.
“They caught on quickly,' said Louisa Suet Yi Lo, administrative assistant. “It didn't take long for them to warm up and they really enjoyed dousing each other, especially the big boss, Bruce Hammock.”
"It was great seeing everyone relaxing and having so much fun," said Grace Bedoian of the administrative staff who will be retiring July 30. "They work hard and they play hard.”
Hammock, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the Entomological Society of America, directs the campuswide Superfund Research Program, National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Training Program, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Combined Analytical Laboratory.
As an extra bonus, the annual battle provides a little water for the thirsty Briggs Hall lawn, which is used by campus wildlife, including ducks, turkeys, squirrels, birds, butterflies and bees.
ACE annually conducts a Critique and Awards (C&A) program that recognizes excellence in communications skills for individuals involved in the public sector – USDA, land-grant universities, state extension service or experiment stations, and international foundations.
This year Garvey won the first-place award for best feature photo with an image of a Polish scientist Jakub Gabka wearing a bee beard. The visiting scientist was part of an after-hours bee bearding event, coordinated by bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road.
Garvey's other gold award was for best "writing on the web" for her "Thankful for Insects" Bug Squad blog, posted on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR website).
The bronze award was a third-place award for best series of photos on her Bug Squad blog.
The awards were presented at the organization's annual meeting, held recently in Portland, Ore.
Several other UC communicators received ACE awards at the Portland conference.
Steve Heindl, Marissa Stein and Ray Lucas of Communication Services & Information Technology won gold in the Educational Package category for the online “Introduction to Forest Management” course they produced for Rick Standiford, UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley.
For promotional videos, ACE awarded silver for the UC Cooperative Extension centennial video. The video was produced by the UC Office of the President's multimedia team of Jessica Wheeler, Zach Long and Larissa Branin with direction from Pam Kan-Rice and Cynthia Kintigh of the UC ANR Communication Services and Information Technology (CSIT).
“Grape Pest Management, Third Edition” won a silver award for technical publications for Larry J. Bettiga, UCCE Extension viticulture advisor in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, as technical editor, and CSIT editors Steve Barnett and Hazel White and CSIT designers Robin Walton and Will Suckow. They also received a bronze award for the reference book's design in the 2014 PubWest Book Design Award.
(Editor's Note: UC ANR's Pam Kan-Rice, assistant director, News and Information Outreach, Communication Services and Information Technology, contributed to this report)
