- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
His appointment was announced this week by Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter.
Nadler chaired the Department of Nematology for six years, until the two departments merged in 2011. He succeeds Michael Parrella, who has accepted a position as the dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Idaho, effective Feb. 1, 2016.
“Steve is an exceptionally strong researcher and teacher and has considerable administrative experience,” said Parrella, who served as chair from 1991-1999 and from 2009-2015. “I am confident he will continue to move the nationally ranked Department of Entomology and Nematology forward. It is good to know that I am leaving the department in very good hands.”
“I am pleased to have this opportunity to lead the Department of Entomology and Nematology,” Nadler said. “The department has remarkable faculty, and I look forward to working with them and our dedicated staff and students to advance our research, teaching and extension goals.”
The Department of Entomology and Nematology was recently ranked as the top program of its kind in the United States and has an annual budget of almost $20 million. The department has 21 ladder-rank faculty, 40 graduate students, an undergraduate major with 40 students and oversees the undergraduate animal biology major with more than 300 students.
Nadler joined the UC Davis faculty in 1996 as an associate professor and associate nematologist, advancing to professor in 2001. He was named chair of the Department of Nematology in May 2005 and held that leadership position until June 2011.
Nadler researches the molecular evolutionary biology of free-living and parasitic nematodes and teaches undergraduate classes in parasitology and nematology, and a graduate class in molecular phylogenetic analysis.In 2013 he was awarded the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal by the American Society of Parasitologists; this is the society's highest research honor. His research program is well funded by the National Science Foundation. He is a co-author (with L. S. Roberts and J. Janovy, Jr.) of Foundations of Parasitology (9th edition, McGraw Hill), globally the most widely used undergraduate parasitology textbook.
“Much of my recent evolutionary research,” Nadler said, “has focused on nematodes of the suborder Cephalobina, a group that includes numerous bacterial-feeding species in soil, but also some parasitic taxa hosted by invertebrates. My current NSF research is designed to discover and characterize nematode biodiversity in soil by applying high-throughput sequencing of individual nematodes and metagenetics.”
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Nadler received his bachelor of science degree, cum laude, in biology in 1980 from Missouri State University, Springfield. He holds a master's degree (1982) and a doctorate (1985) in medical parasitology from Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans.
He did postdoctoral research from 1985 to 1986 as a National Institutes of Health research trainee in the Experimental Parasitology Training Program, Center for Parasitology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, followed by two years as a National Science Foundation postdoctoral research associate at Louisiana State University's Museum of Natural Science, Baton Rouge.
Nadler joined the biological sciences faculty at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, as an assistant professor in 1990. He was promoted to associate professor in 1995.
Active in the American Society of Parasitologists (ASP), Nadler served as the organization's president from 2007 to 2008. He is an associate editor of Systematic Parasitology; subject editor of Zookeys (molecular systematics and phylogeny); and a member of the editorial board of Parasitology (British).
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The seminar is from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall. Nematologist Steve Nadler, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will introduce the speaker.
"Hookworms are important parasites of humans and animals, infecting over 750 million people worldwide," says Hawdon. "In heavy infections they cause anemia and impair physical and cognitive development, and are particularly problematic in children, the elderly and pregnant women. A better understanding of the molecular biology of hookworm infection is required for the development of rational controls strategies and new drugs."
"The infective third stage larva (L3) is developmentally arrested until it enters a permissive host, when it receives a host-specific signal that initiates developmental pathways and progression to the adult stage. The obligate requirement for a vertebrate host makes studying the infective process of hookworms difficult. Fortunately, the L3 is analogous to the dauer stage of free-living nematodes such as C. elegans, and recovery from dauer has been used as a model for the resumption of development that occurs during infection. Using an in vitro assay, our lab has described and characterized an “activated” larval state in response to host like conditions. We have demonstrated the presence of conserved signaling pathways controlling activation, as well as conserved molecular components, between hookworms and C. elegans. I will discuss these advances and the role of activation in the life history of hookworms and similar parasitic nematodes.'
Hawdon has served as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, since 2005, and an associate professor, Microbiology and Tropical Medicine, at the George Washington University Medical Center, since 2000.
Hawdon received his bachelor's degree in animal bioscience in 1981 from Penn State University and his doctorate in parasitology from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at the MacArthur Center for Molecular Parasitology, Yale University School of Medicine, from 1991 to 1994. He then served as an associate research scientist, Medical Helminthology Laboratory, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, at the Yale University School of Medicine.
Hawdon is a past president of the Helminthological Society of Washington and a member of the American Society of Parasitology. He serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Parasitology.
Plans call for the seminar to be video-recorded for later viewing on UCTV.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The seminar will take place from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in 122 Briggs. Host is Jiawen Xu, a graduate student in the Bruce Hammock lab.
"Transmission of human disease-causing agents by mosquitoes depends on the successful completion of the pathogen's infection-cycle in the insect vector," Dimopoulous said. "The mosquito's innate immune system and microbiota represent important bottlenecks for pathogen transmission, and can thus be exploited for the development of novel disease control strategies." He will discuss "advances in our understanding of how the mosquito immune system and natural microbiota can influence Plasmodium and dengue virus infection in their respective vectors."
Dimopoulous has more than 20 years experience with molecular entomology of the vectors Anopheles. gambiae and Ae. aegypti. His research has mainly focused on the mosquito's innate immune system and the mosquito midgut microbiota, and how they interact with various the human pathogens Plasmodium falciparum and the dengue virus, using genomics, functional genomics and molecular biology techniques and approaches. His group's research over the past 8 years has contributed significantly toward the understanding of how the mosquito innate immune system and microbiota influences the mosquito and its permissiveness to human pathogen infection.
Dimopoulous received his bachelor's degree in microbiology from Stockholm University, Sweden, and his doctorate in biology from the University of Crete, Greece. He did postdoctoral work in molecular entomology at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany from 1996 to 2001. In 2007 he obtained his master's of business administration from Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University, studying management and leadership.
Since 2013, Dimopoulous has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan.
Professor Steve Nadler chairs the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminars. Most are recorded for later posting on UCTV.
See schedule for remaining seminars of the quarter.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The seminars are from 12:10 to 1 p.m. and most will be recorded for later viewing on UCTV.
Jan. 7
Ronald Rosenberg
Title of Seminar: "Detecting the Emergence of Novel Arthropod-Borne Pathogens"
Associate Director for Global Health in the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Fort Collins, Colo.
Nominators/hosts: Professor Shirley Luckhart, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis School of Medicine and graduate student advisor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and Professor Ed Lewis and Distinguished Professor James R. Carey, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Jan. 14
Daniel Matute
Title of Seminar: "Hybrid Speciation in Drosophila"
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Nominator/host: Meredith Cenzer, graduate student, Louie Yang lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Jan. 21
George Dimopoulous
Title of Seminar: "Exploiting Infection Bottlenecks in the Mosquito to Control Human Disease"
Director of the Parasitology Core Facility
John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Baltimore, Md.
Nominator/host: Jiawen Xu, graduate student, Bruce Hammock lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Jan. 28
Michael Parrella
Title of Seminar: "To Antarctica and Back: The Search for Belgica antarctica Jacobs, 1900 (Diptera; Chironomidae)"
Professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Feb. 4
Jay Evans
Title of Seminar: "What's It Like Inside a Bee? Genetic Approaches to Honey Bee Health"
Research entomologist
USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS)
Beltsville, MD.
Nominator/host: Marin County Beekeepers
Feb. 11
Amro Zayed
Title of Seminar: "Honey Bee Behavioral Genomics: Worker Behavior and Adaptation"
Associate Professor, Department of Biology
York University
Toronto, Canada
Nominator/host: Brian Johnson, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Feb. 18 (CANCELLED, due to inclement weather and flight cancellation)
Steven Frank
Title of Seminar: "Can Forests Take the Heat? Managing Pests and Ecosystem Services in a Warming Climate"
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, N.C.
Nominator/host: Michael Parrella, professor and chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
March 11
Thomas Eltz
Title of Seminar: "Perfume Making and Signalling in Orchid bees: New Light on an Old Enigma"
Chemical Ecologist
University of Bochum
Bochum, Germany
Nominator/host: Santiago Ramirez, faculty member, UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology
April 1
George Kennedy
Title of Seminar: "Modeling the Epidemiology of Tomato Spotted Wilt: Understanding the Role of Thrips Population Dynamics and Virus Inoculum Sources "
William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Agriculture
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, N.C.
Nominator/host: Diane Ullman, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
April 8
Michael Strand
Title of Seminar: "Role of Microorganisms in Growth, Development and Reproduction of Mosquitoes”
Regents Professor
University of Georgia
Athens, Ga.
Nominators/hosts: Professor Shirley Luckhart, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis School of Medicine and graduate student advisor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and Professor Ed Lewis and Distinguished Professor James R. Carey, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
April 15
Eric Palevsky
Title of Seminar: "Plant-Feeding Phytoseiids: Cheliceral Morphology, Feeding Mechanism and Host Plant Interactions" Acarologist, Department of Entomology
Newe-Ya'ar Research Center
Agricultural Research Organization
Ministry of Agriculture
Ramat Yishay, Israel
Nominator/host: Michael Parrella, professor and chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
April 22
John Lane
Title of Seminar: "Explorations of the Hargy Caldera, New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea"
Professional Geologist/Registered Environmental Assessor
Environmental Scientist/Certified Mold Inspector
Chico Environmental Science and Planning
Chico, Calif.
Nominator/host:Lynn Kimsey, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
April 29
Matt Daughtery
Title of Seminar: "Understanding the Impact of an Invasive Vector: Sharpshooter Transmission Efficiency, Behavior, and Pathogen Spread"
Assistant Extension Specialist and Principal Investigator
UC Riverside
Riverside, Calif.
Nominator/host: Jay Rosenheim
May 13
Amy Toth
Title of Seminar: "Molecular Evolution in Insect Societies: Insights from Genomics of Primitively Social Paper Wasps"
Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
Department of Entomology
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
Nominator/host: Brian Johnson, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
May 20
John Hawdon
Topic: "Molecular Mechanisms of Hookworm Infection"
Research Center for Neglected Diseases of Poverty, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
Nominator/host: Steve Nadler
May 27
John "Jack" Longino
Title of Seminar: "Project ADMAC: Ant Diversity of the Mesoamerican Corridor"
Professor of Biology
Adjunct Curator of Entomology, Utah Museum of Natural History, University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Nominator/host: Phil Ward, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
June 3
Mike Singer
Title of Seminar: "One Butterfly, Six Host Shifts"
Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, College of Natural Sciences
Specialty: Butterfly ecology and behavior
(Formerly with University of Texas, Austin, Texas)
Nominator/host: Meredith Cenzer, graduate student, Louie Yang lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Chen, an associate project scientist, will discuss the emerald ash borer and the goldspotted oak borer and their interactions with their host plants. His talk is from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall.
Research entomologist Steve Seybold of the USDA's Forest Service and an affiliate of the Department of Entomology and Nematology is the host.
Chen, who holds a master's degree in applied statistics (2010) from Michigan State University, obtained his doctorate in entomology from the University of Georgia in 2007. For his dissertation research, he investigated various effects of nitrogen fertilization on tritrophic interactions among cotton plants, the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, and the parasitoid, Cotesia marginiventris. The project integrated ecological, chemical, nutritional, and behavioral elements to evaluate the role of nitrogen in shaping tri-trophic interactions in cotton.
Chen carried out postdoctoral research at Michigan State University's Department of Entomology from 2008 to 2011 on the behavioral, chemical, and nutritional interactions between the invasive emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, and ash trees. He relocated to UC Davis in July 2011 to lead an effort to improve trapping lures for detection of another invasive pest, the goldspotted oak borer, Agrilus auroguttatus.
In collaboration with research entomologists from the USDA Forest Service, Chen is now working to develop management options for the invasive walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, and polyphagous shot hole borer, Euwallacea sp.
Chen's overarching research goals are to build arthropod pest management systems that emphasize naturally occurring pest suppression agents and environmentally friendly tactics, that is, insect sex pheromones and other semiochemicals, in a holistic, ecosystem-based approach. He is also interested in studying pest population dynamics in the context of various pest management tactics, agronomic practices, and abiotic environmental factors (e.g., temperature and precipitation) with mathematical and statistical tools.
Wednesday, Oct. 8
Vaughn Walton
Associate professor and Extension entomologist
Lead investigator, Spotted Wing Drosophila Project
Oregon State University
Title: "Complexities Associated with Two Invasive Pests: Challenges and Opportunities"
Hosts: Assistant professor Joanna Chiu and distinguished professor Frank Zalom, Department of Entomology and Nematology
Wednesday, Oct. 15
Surendra Dara
Strawberry and Vegetable Crops and affiliated IPM Advisor, University of California Cooperative Extension, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.
Title: "Thinking Outside the Cubicle to Provide Practical Solutions to the Farmers"
Host: Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology
Wednesday, Oct. 22
Blaine Cole
Professor, University of Houston, specializing in evolution, ecology and behavior.
Title: "Colony Growth and Fitness in Harvester Ants"
Host: Marshall McMunn, graduate student, Louie Yang lab, Department of Entomology and Nematology
Wednesday, Oct. 29
Clifford Ohmart
Entomologist and vice president of professional services
SureHarvest, sustainable agriculture
Title: "Sustainable Agriculture: What Is Happening Out on the Farm?"
Host: Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology
Wednesday, Nov. 5
Chuck Fox
Professor, University of Kentucky, specializing in ecology and evolution of life histories; insect-plant interactions; insect behavioral ecology
Title: "Inbreeding-Environment Interactions: Experimental Studies and a Meta Analysis"
Host: Jay Rosenheim, professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology
Wednesday, Nov. 12
Louie Yang
Assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, specializing in ecology
Title: "Pulses, Phenology and Ontogeny: Towards a More Temporally Explicit Framework for Understanding Species Interactions?"
Wednesday, Nov. 19
Ray Hong
Associate professor of biology, California State University, Northridge, specializing in nematology
Title: “A Fatal Attraction: Regulation of Development and Behavior in the Nematode Pristionchus pacificus by a Beetle Pheromone”
Host: Valerie Williamson, professor of nematology, Department of Entomology and Nematology
Wednesday, Nov. 26
Doris Bachtrog, lab
Associate professor, UC Berkeley, specializing in evolutionary and functional genomics
Title: "Numerous Transitions of Sex Chromosomes in Diptera"
Host: Michael Parrella, professor and chair, Department of Entomology and Nematology
Wednesday, Dec. 3
To be announced
Wednesday, Dec. 10
Sawyer Fuller
Postdoctoral researcher, Harvard University
Title: "RoboBee: Using the Engineering Toolbox to Understand the Flight Apparatus of Flying Insects"
Host: James Carey, distinguished professor of entomology
This seminar by Sawyer Brown will be remote broadcast to UC Davis.
Plans call for recording the seminars, coordinated by Professor James Carey, for later posting on the web.