Associate Professor
Biology
Office
Nicolaus Copernicus Hall
353
Education
Areas of Expertise
I am an entomologist that truly enjoys learning about the most diverse and abundant group of animals on the planet – the insects. I have two interests on which I focus my research. The first is agricultural entomology in the nursery industry to develop improved management strategies for invasive and native wood-boring insects. The second field of research is medical and veterinary entomology, which includes behavioral ecology, species distributions, and pathogen infection rates of insects and ticks important to human/animal health. Undergraduate and graduate students are vital members of my research team.
Current projects my team is researching include: 1) management of wood-boring beetles that are problematic to forest ecosystems and the commercial nursery industry, and 2) species distributions of mosquito and tick vectors important for human and animal pathogens.
Courses Taught
Non-Biology Major Courses:
BIO 100 – Search in Biology: Invasive Species (winter and summer semesters)
BIO 101 – Search in Biology with Lab: Insects and Society (summer semesters)
BIO 111 – Introductory Biology
BIO 113 – Laboratory Experience in Biology
Biology Major Courses:
BIO 121 – General Biology I – lecture and laboratory
BIO 122 – General Biology II – lecture and laboratory
BIO 200 – Integrative Biology – lecture (co-taught) and laboratory
BIO 290 – Biology Research Experience
BIO 318 – Anatomy & Physiology I – laboratory
BIO 319 – Anatomy & Physiology II – laboratory
BIO 440 – Evolution
BIO 469 – Entomology – lecture and laboratory
BIO 490/540 – Topics in Biology: Medical & Veterinary Entomology
BIO 490/540 – Topics in Biology: BioInvasions
BIO 491 – Advanced Studies in Biology: Forensic Entomology