Rob Williams

Research Assistant Receives Staff Meritorious Service Award

December 19, 2018 by Rob Williams

Azyucena Mendoza-Herrera receiving the Staff Meritorious Service Award from Dr. David Ragsdale. Photo by Rob Williams — Azucena Mendoza-Herrera, left, receiving the Staff Meritorious Service Award from Dr. David Ragsdale. Photo by Rob Williams

Congratulations to research assistant Dr. Maria Azucena Mendoza-Herrera as she received the Department of Entomology’s Meritorious Service Award during a special awards presentation on Thursday, December 13.

Mendoza-Herrera has been working as a research assistant in Dr. Cecilia Tamborindeguy’s lab since 2014 where she has helped Tamborindeguy achieve her research goals in her lab. During her career, Mendoza-Herrera has authored five papers, including first author recognition on two. This year she published two papers describing the plant symptoms associated with two bacterial haplotypes.

Mendoza-Herrera is currently working on the interaction between plant hosts, psyllids and the bacterial pathogen they transmit. Tamborindeguy praised her for her dedication to helping keep the lab running and mentoring students in the lab.

“Azucena is very dependable and hard working,” Tamborindeguy said. “She performs all her tasks on time, often anticipating the needs of other lab members and allowing experiments to be performed in a timely manner.”

Before working with the Department, she has worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Texas A&M University with the Horticulture Science Department Institute for Plant Genomic and Biotechnology from 2006-2011, the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology in 2001-2004, and with the Ecosystem Science and Management from 1999-2001.

During her career, she has mentored and supervised four undergraduate students, seven graduate students, and two visiting scientists during different stages of their thesis and dissertation research in the labs.

“Azucena takes very seriously her place in the laboratory,” Tamborindeguy said. “She is an asset for the success of my students. She helps them as much as she can and she works side by side with them to encourage them. She helps them to be top presenters, contributing to the success of my students in student competitions at the regional and national level.”

Congratulations December 2018 Graduates!

December 13, 2018 by Rob Williams

The Department of Entomology would like to congratulate the following students that joined more than 700 students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, as well as a total of more than 5,237 universitywide that are expected to be awarded degrees during the 2pm commencement ceremonies at Reed Arena on Friday, December 14.

Undergraduates

Lindsay Akers	Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and Entomology
John Michael Grunseich	Plant and Environmental Soil Science and Entomology
Betty Nicole Hernandez	Entomology
Woojung Kim	Biomedical Sciences and Entomology
Jonathan Daniel Koehl	Entomology
John Kenneth McQuitty	Biomedical Sciences and Entomology
Heidi Rockwell	Entomology
Thai Quoc Vu	Entomology

Graduates – Ph.D. Students

Shavonn Whiten	Entomology
Karen Poh	Entomology
Tyler Raszick	Entomology
Chloe Hawkings	Entomology
James Tracy	Entomology
Ricardo Marino Perez	Entomology

Entomology Minors

Todd Bettice	Entomology minor
Brittany Frazier	Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences major, Entomology minor

Public Health Entomology Certificates

Keelie Brydson	Biomedical Sciences
Marissa Mitchell	Biomedical Sciences

Ibanez Recognized with 2018 Comstock Award

December 5, 2018 by Rob Williams

Freddy Ibanez. Photo by Entomological Society of America

Former Ph.D. student Freddy Ibanez’s research and hard work were recently recognized as he received the Entomological Society’s John Henry Comstock Award for his research conducted in Texas A&M University under the supervision of Dr. Cecilia Tamborindeguy.

Ibanez received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Santiago of Chile in 2006 and began his career studying molecular biology, focusing on developmental genes associated with gastrulation in Drosophila melanogaster, and epigenetic mechanisms. In 2013, Ibanez started his Ph.D. in entomology at Texas A&M University under the direction of Dr. Cecilia Tamborindeguy. His dissertation research focused in the study of Bactericera cockerelli reproduction. Bactericera cockerelli, known as the potato psyllid, is the vector of “zebra chip.”

During his four years at Texas A&M University, Ibanez wrote nine manuscripts, with six of them as first author. He was a member of the Linnaean Games team when the team was awarded first place in ESA Southwestern Branch in 2016. Ibanez was also awarded the USDA-AFRI Student Travel Grant in 2014 to attend the 2014 ESA national meeting in Portland where he received the first-place award in the student poster competition for President’s Prize, in the section of Physiology Biochemistry and Toxicology.

Tamborindeguy was very proud of Ibanez hard work and dedication and for receiving the award. “The John Henry Comstock Award is the highest honor for graduate students in entomology to receive in this country,” she said. “Freddy has been an exemplary graduate student and an outstanding scientist.” This prestigious award recognizes one graduate student from each branch for their accomplishments in research, service, and public engagement. The award included an all-expense-paid trip to the national meeting, a $500 cash prize, and a certificate that is presented during the ESA Annual Meeting

Ibanez currently is a postdoctoral researcher in Department of Entomology and Nematology at the Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, working with Dr. Lukasz Stelinski. The main goal of this research is to address the effectiveness of pesticide applications to control Diaphorina citri on ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’-infected citrus groves and evaluating the effect of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ inoculation frequency on citrus greening progression and plant defense response.

Students Receive Top Awards at ESA Annual Meeting

December 5, 2018 by Rob Williams

Alex Payne standing to receive her award. — Alex Payne, center, with Dr. Tyler Wist, research scientist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and a member of the Entomological Society of Canada’s Awards Committee, and Dr. Michael Parrella, 2017-2018 president of the Entomological Society of America. Photo by the Entomological Society of America

The Department of Entomology had a winning year as several students received awards and were recognized at this year’s Entomological Society of America’s annual meeting in Vancouver, B.C Canada.

The first of the students was Ph.D. student Alex Payne who won first place in the Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology Section with her talk titled “Spillover in eusocial insects: Detection of honey bee (Apis Mellifera) associated viruses in ants”

Xiaotian Tang, center, with Dr. Tyler Wist, left, and Dr. Michael Parrella. Photo by the Entomological Society of America

Franchesca Rodriguez, center, with Dr. Tyler Wist, left, and Dr. Michael Parrella. Photo by the Entomological Society of America

“I am very proud of Alex. She’s a great presenter and it doesn’t matter what project it is, she does it very well and she is very well prepared,” said Dr. Rangel, her PhD advisor.

Ph.D. student Xiaotian Tang received first place in the Plant-Insect Ecosystems section for his talk titled “Reduced intracellular immune response of potato psyllids, Bactericera cockerelli, to ‘Candidadus Liberibacter solanacearum’ in the gut interface” while senior Francesca Rodriguez received first place in her section of the undergraduate 10-minute presentation category “Behavioral effects of Juvenile hormone on the worker caste of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta”

“Xiaotian is an outstanding PhD student,” Dr. Tamborindeguy said. “He is hard-working and very dedicated to his research. His presentation was flawless, he engaged the audience and presented clearly a large body of research. I am glad that he was recognized at the national level with a first place in the graduate student competition.”

Tamborindeguy also was proud of Rodriguez’ hard work and dedication.

MacKenzie Kjeldgaard, right, with Dr. Tyler Wist, left, and Dr. Michael Parrella. Photo by the Entomological Society of America

“Franchesca is an excellent undergraduate student in our department,” she said. “Her presentation was excellent and she was very calm. I am very happy that she received the First place in the undergraduate student competition and I am certain that Franchesca will achieve a successful career in entomology.”

Ph.D. student MacKenzie Kjeldgaard received first place in the Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity section for her talk titled “Sugar is an ant’s best friend: Testing food web theory predictions in invasive ants.”

“MacKenzie is an outstanding researcher and one of the best public speakers I have worked with in my twenty years as a faculty member,” Kjeldgaard’s faculty advisor Dr. Eubanks said.

Zach Popkin-Hall, center, with Dr. Tyler Wist, left, and Dr. Michael Parrella. Photo by the Entomological Society of America

Ph.D. student Zach Popkin-Hall advised by Dr. Slotman received second place in the Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology section for his presentation titled “Differential expression of chemosensory genes in the proboscis of the sibling species Anopheles (An.) coluzzii and An. quadriannulatus”. Jocelyn Holt, advised by Dr.

Jocelyn Holt, center, with Dr. Tyler Wist, left, and Dr. Michael Parrella. Photo by the Entomological Society of America

Medina, also received second in the Plant-Insect Ecosystem section for her presentation titled “Characterization of the sugarcane aphid microbiome in the continental U.S.”

“I am glad that I had the opportunity to present my research at ESA in Vancouver and I am honored to represent Texas A&M’s Entomology Department as well as Aggie Women in Entomology,” Holt said. “It is exciting to be recognized for my research presentation and I will continue to work to communicate invasive insect pest mutualisms in an engaging way.”

The graduate Linnaean Team received second place during the annual Linnaean Games competition after defeating the University of Georgia in the first round, then being defeated by the University of California-Davis and Berkeley in the finals.

The Linnaean Team. From left to right, Dr. Deane Jorgenson, grad students Mark Janowiecki, Mackenzie Tietjen, Joanie King, Fabian List, and Dr. Michael Parrella. Photo by the Entomological Society of America.

The graduate team included students Joanie King, Fabian List, Mackenzie Tietjen, and Mark Janowiecki. King said she was very proud of her teammates and enjoyed competing against top teams.

“It was a lot of fun. For me, it was really exciting to go up against the University of Georgia because I did my Master’s there in the Entomology Department,” she said. “We tied and had a “sudden death” match and the last question was about insect pin sizes. It was a special moment for me because I talked about insect pin sizes to Dr. Rangel during practice one day.”

Rangel said that this year’s competition was challenging, but said that the team did well against a tough team in the finals.

“I am actually incredibly proud that they got second place,” Rangel said “They are a great team and hope they can get first place next year.”

Grad Student Participates in Pandemic Simulation Exercise

November 29, 2018 by Rob Williams

Jennifer Rhinesmith-Carranza at a podium speaking — Jennifer Rhinesmith-Carranza speaking at a panel discussion. Photos by Rob Williams

Ph.D. student Jennifer Rhinesmith-Carranza recently got to see first-hand how government leaders plan and respond during a pandemic during a recent pandemic simulation event that was held at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in October.

The exercise was part of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs’ Fourth Annual Pandemic Policy Summit. The simulation was designed to help bring graduate students together to respond to a simulated disease outbreak and demonstrated the multidisciplinary efforts necessary to respond to global challenges and gives students a chance to collaborate with peers from other disciplines.

During the half-day-long event, students were divided into groups where they collaborated with experienced group facilitators to formulate a response plan to a disaster situation while using expertise from their different fields to address either human or animal health issues, environmental concerns, or threats to food and other resources.

Rhinesmith-Carranza’s mentor was Dr. Elizabeth Cameron and her simulation group represented officials from the United States Government. They were tasked throughout the day to address detection, prevention, and response plans as new information was given to members.

Panelists discussed what they learned about the exercise during the Pandemic Policy Summit.

Other groups played such roles as government officials of the country of origin of the pathogen, global bilateral donor governments, pandemic response implementation organizations, and various non-governmental organizations and foundations.

Representatives from each group discussed the results and reactions on working the simulation during a panel discussion at the Fourth Annual Pandemic Policy Summit in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center on Monday, October 15. Rhinesmith-Carranza was selected to represent her group at the summit.

Rhinesmith-Carranza enjoyed working with her group members and the other groups in the simulation and learned greatly from the experience.

“It was a phenomenal learning experience,” she said. “We had the opportunity to interact with professionals from across the spectrum – policy, epidemiology, veterinary science, human medicine, academia. My own mentor was part of the Obama administration and provided us with invaluable insight on the policy side of science. Learning from the experiences she shared with us regarding her current and former time in government and policy really gave me a new lens through which to view my own science and its applications.”

Rhinesmith-Carranza loved how science can play a role in policymaking.

“It honestly made me more interested in science and policy as a whole. There is this really fine line that policy enacters walk between public perception, politics, the best interests and safety of citizens, and the science itself,” she said. “While I’ve always known that’s a complex interaction, to see how it really plays out (even in simulation form) was fascinating, exciting, and at times a little concerning if I’m being frank.”

She also enjoyed being a part of the simulation and loved working with students and faculty from multiple disciplines.

“Presenting during the summit was also an honor,” she said. “It was great to be able to represent Texas A&M, the Department, and the Scowcroft Institute in front of representatives from governments and nations around the world. As I move forward in my graduate studies, participating in the simulation really did open up this whole realm outside of academia where educated, engaged professionals are really needed in times of crisis, but also outside of those crises in order to better prepare for when they do – inevitably – hit.”