Texas A&M Entomology Research Network

Former Student News

Ibanez Recognized with 2018 Comstock Award

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Freddy Ibanez. Photo by Entomological Society of America
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.

Former PhD Student Receives Top Award for Research in Malaysia

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Chong Chin Heo standing at a stage receiving a medal.
Chong Chin Heo, right, receiving the medal from Professor Emeritus Dr. C.P. Ramachandran, left. Submitted photo.

Congratulations to former Ph.D. student Chong Chin Heo as he received the research medal for his research at the 54th annual meeting of the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine.

Heo was honored with the Nadchatram Silver Medal during the opening ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur. The award was given every year to scientists under 45 years old that have done outstanding research in both parasitology and tropical medicine fields.

Heo received his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences in 2006 and Master of Science in 2009 from the National University of Malaysia, and then his Ph.D. in Entomology from Texas A&M in 2016. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia, where he is teaching medical parasitology and entomology to pre-clinical medical students.

Before becoming a faculty member, Heo was a research officer at the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur, and was a member of Dr. Jeff Tomberlin’s FLIES Facility when he was a grad student. Heo’s research interests are carrion decomposition ecology, biodiversity of necrophagous and coprophagous dipteran species, and forensic entomology/acarology.

Heo has given more than 70 platforms and poster presentations at conferences locally and internationally since 2017.

“Chin has always been a stellar researcher. So, I am not surprised by his receiving such a prestigious award,” Heo’s former mentor Dr. Jeffery Tomberlin said. “This recognition highlights his amazing contributions to the field of parasitology and entomology as well as his dedication to the students at his university.”

“I felt very honored to be selected by the committee as the recipient for Nadchatram Medal 2017. I am very grateful to the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine for their recognition to young scientists in the field of parasitology and entomology.,” Heo said.

Heo was also grateful for the time that he had spent at Texas A&M and for the faculty that have trained him.

“I sincerely thank my former professors and supervisors who taught me, particularly Dr. Jeffery Tomberlin, Dr. Pete Teel, Dr. Aaron Tarone, Dr. Jacqueline Peterson (Soil and Crop Sciences, TAMU) and Dr. Tawni Crippen (USDA-ARS) for their support and help during my PhD program here at the Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University,” he said. “Being a former PhD graduate from the Department, this unique experience definitely enhances my confident and quality as a researcher, and making me a proud Aggie who work hard to promote entomological sciences, and spread the Aggie spirit and culture to the local community.”

Linnaean Team Wins First Place, Department Receives Top Awards and Recognition at National Meeting

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Undergraduate Linnaean Team
The Undergraduate Linnaean Team. From left to right, Dr. Juliana Rangel (coach), Jeffrey Barbosa, Bret Nash, Sam Shook, Shelby Kilpatrick, and Dayvion Adams. Submitted photo.

DENVER—Several of the Department of Entomology’s undergraduate and graduate students received high recognition for their work during this year’s Entomological Society of America annual meeting at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

The conference, which was held from November 5 through 8, allows entomologists to learn the newest research and collaborate with others from across the United States and many international attendees.  It is the largest gathering of Entomologists in the world with 3,700 in attendance this year.  Our students competed in various poster and oral presentation competitions on their research.

Karen Poh, center, with Dr. Susan Weller, left, and Dr. Michael Parrella, right. Photo by Glenn Cook/Entomological Society of America.
Karen Poh, center, with Dr. Susan Weller, left, and Dr. Michael Parrella, right. Photo by Glenn Cook/Entomological Society of America.

The Texas A&M Undergraduate Linnaean Team took first place after defeating Ohio State University during the final Linnaean Games competition. The team consisted of Sam Shook, Dayvion Adams, Shelby Kilpatrick, Bret Nash, and Jeffrey Barbosa. The team pushed their way to the top by defeating both graduate and undergraduate teams from top colleges, such as Purdue, LSU, and Ohio State.

Linnaean Team coach Dr. Juliana Rangel was very pleased with the team’s progress during the tournament. “We practiced twice a week when the semester started. In the last few weeks, we practiced three times a week, so they were studying to the best of their ability, so I think that helped a lot.”

Pierre Lau, center, with Dr. Susan Weller and Dr. Michael Parrella. Photo by Glenn Cook/Entomological Society of America
Pierre Lau, center, with Dr. Susan Weller, left, and Dr. Michael Parrella, right. Photo by Glenn Cook/Entomological Society of America.

She also was very surprised and proud of the team’s success. “It’s almost unbelievable and surreal,” Rangel added. “I was very happy.”

In the ten minute paper competition, several of the Department’s students received top honors for their research presentation in their respected section. The students include the following:

  • Ashleigh Faris – Ph. D. student: 1st place Oral- Medical, Urban, Veterinary Entomology-Diptera, Flies
    “Who Where, and when? A survey of Texas blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae)”
  • Karen Poh – Ph. D. student: 1st place Oral – Medical, Urban, Veterinary Entomology, Diptera, Mosquitoes  – “Effects of prior temperature and precipitation on West Nile virus infection in Culex quinquefasciatus Say in Harris County, Texas”
  • Mackenzie Tietjen – Ph.D. Student: 1st place Oral- Medical, Urban, Veterinary Entomology, Ticks and Urban Pests “The mystery of the immature stages of Ixodes scapularis in the south: Where are they?”
  • Pierre Lau-Ph.D. Student: 1st place Oral – Plant-Insect Ecosystems, Apiculture “Determining the minimum number of pollen grains needed for accurate honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony pollen pellet analysis”
  • Alex Payne-Ph.D. Student: 1st place Oral- Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology, Pollinators “Are honey bees (Apis mellifera) feeling antsy? Ants as possible reservoirs of honey bee pathogens.”
  • Chloë Hawkings- Ph.D. Student: 2nd place – Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology, General Physiology “The influence of brood on the transcriptional profiles in the brain of the worker red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta)”
  • Liz Walsh – Ph.D. Student – 2nd place Oral – Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology, Pollinators “Honey bee (Apis Mellifera, L.) queen rearing environment affects behavior and physiology”
Chloe Hawkings, right, with Dr. Cecilia Tamborindeguy. Photo by Rob Williams
Chloë Hawkings, right, with Dr. Cecilia Tamborindeguy. Photo by Rob Williams
  • Ricardo Mariño-Perez – Ph.D. Student: 2nd place Oral, Systematics, Evolution, and Biology, Acari, Araneae, Opiliones, Orthoptera, Phasmatodea, and Phthiraptera “An illustrated key to the Pyrgomorphidae genera of the world (Orthoptera: Caelifera).”
  • Makaylee Crone-Undergraduate: Second Place Oral – Medical, Urban, Veterinary Entomology and Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology “The effects of pyriproxyfen exposure on honey bee (Apis mellifera) sucrose sensitivity”
  • Emily Hildinger-Undergraduate: First Place Oral– Plant-Insect Ecosystems, Miscellanceous – “Assessing the importance of blow flies as potential pollinators in our ecosystem”

“I am so proud of Chloë ’s second place in her ESA section. She did an excellent job, her presentation was flawless,” Hawkings’ faculty advising chair Dr. Cecilia Tamborindeguy said. “It is a well-deserved reward. Chloe is not only excelling in her PhD work, but also she is engaged in different outreach and professional development activities.”

Chong Chin Heo, right, with Dr. Susan Weller. Photo by Glenn Cook/Entomological Society of America
Chong Chin Heo, right, with Dr. Susan Weller. Photo by Glenn Cook/Entomological Society of America

Faris’ faculty advising chair Dr. Aaron Tarone was also proud that she won and said that it was a well-deserved award for her.

“I was proud to learn that Ashleigh had won an award for her talk at ESA,” Tarone said. “She had an interesting story to tell about a project that she put a lot of work into. It was nice to see her hard work pay off.”

Rangel was very proud of her students and their hard work.

“We invested all of all of our time in working together to improve each person’s presentation. I was very happy to see that was the case because it was very competitive,” she said. “It has been my best ESA meeting. This was very special and a very positive meeting for all of us.”

“Mackenzie succeeded in presenting her data in an engaging fashion.She used her results to inform her audience about the importance of ecological factors in explaining disease incidence,” Tietjen’s faculty advising chair Dr. Raul Medina said. “Her results have provided information that is helping us to better understand the ecological factors that contribute to the difference in Lyme disease incidence between the the North East and Southern US.”

In addition to the ten minute presentations, several students and former students received special awards during the meeting. Former Ph.D. student Chong Chin Heo was honored with the John Comstock Award. Heo, who received his Ph.D. in entomology in 2016 and currently is a faculty member at the Faculty of Medicine at Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia and has also worked as a research officer at the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur.

“I found Chin’s thirst for knowledge to be exceptionally hard to quench. He was always reading and discussing scientific publications with other students and faculty,” Dr. Jeff Tomberlin said.

“He was a blast to watch develop as a doctoral student in my lab.”

As of 2017, Heo has published 43 peer-reviewed journal articles, one book and chapter of a book, as well as delivered over 70 platforms and poster presentations at local and international conferences.

Liz Walsh, left, with Dr. Stephen Pratt, right. Photo by Dr. James Nieh.
Liz Walsh, left, with Dr. Stephen Pratt, right. Photo by Dr. James Nieh.

“I believe the Comstock Award is such a wonderful recognition of Chin’s efforts. And, I know he is humbled by his selection to receive it,” Tomberlin said. “I know moving forward that he will be a great ambassador for the Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, and the Entomological Society of America.”

Ph.D. student John Gordy also was honored with the Larry Larson Graduate Student Award for Leadership in Applied Entomology during the event. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Texas A&M University under Drs. Michael Brewer and Mo Way and works as a County Extension Agent in Fort Bend County in the Rosenberg area.

Walsh was also recognized for her research with the Jeffery P. La Fage Student Award for Applied Research on Social Insect Pests. The award is given to exceptional PhD students that show exemplary work in their research on social insects with an applied emphasis. Walsh was awarded for her work on mandibular gland pheromones on honey bee queens and how the queen’s rearing environment impacts her on a physiological level and behaviorally on the workers.

Dr. Megha Parajulee, left, accepting a plaque from Dr. Maya Evenden. Photo by Glenn Cook/Entomological Society of America
Dr. Megha Parajulee, left, accepting a plaque from Dr. Maya Evenden. Photo by Glenn Cook/Entomological Society of America

Ashleigh Faris also was recognized for receiving the 2017 Medical, Urban and Veterinary Entomology’s Student Travel Award and Dr. Megha Parajulee also was recognized for serving as president of the International Branch of the Entomological Society of America.

 

Former Student Honored with Outstanding Early Career Alumni Award

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Brad Hopkins, left, with Dr. Mark Hussey, Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences. Photo by Michael Kellett

BRYAN, Texas—Congratulations to Dr. Brad Hopkins as he received the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Outstanding Early Career Award.

The award recognizes former students in the College that have made significant accomplishments and contributions at the state, national or international levels in agriculture, natural resources or the life sciences and who graduated from the college within the past 15 years.

Hopkins was recognized at the annual Legacy and Leadership banquet held at the Brazos County Expo Center on November 18.

Hopkins received his bachelor’s, masters, and Ph.D. from the Department and currently works at Dow AgroSciences global headquarters in Indianapolis as a Global Biology Leader.

As a Global Biology leader, Hopkins works with different clients including working with other companies that provide seed treatments to evaluate what Dow’s options are and to make recommendations to their seed brands globally. He also plans the company’s global internal research program and acts as a consulting resource to their seed brands for seed treatment.

Before joining Dow, Hopkins worked as a crop consultant at Hopkins Agricultural Service, Inc, in Portland, Texas. Hopkins said the company, owned by his father, Sidney Hopkins, specializes in crop consulting and contract research with producers of cotton and grain sorgum, as well as other crops in the company’s coverage area.

During his time as a Ph.D. student, Hopkins worked in Dr. Patricia Pietrantonio’s lab where his research focused mainly on pyrethroid resistance management in the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa zea). From a research standpoint, he tested new technologies and assessed how they performed in the field. The testing of these new technologies allowed Hopkins to teach producers how they work and which ones will work best in increasing their profits.

“His interest evolved from general and field entomology to molecular science with special emphasis in insect toxicology,” said Dr. David Ragsdale, entomology department head and nominator. “The faculty recognized Brad for his leadership, maturity, responsibility, intelligence and common sense.”

Hopkins felt grateful for the award and said that it was a great honor to be at the ceremony.

“I felt truly honored to be recognized by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Department of Entomology for such a prestigious award,” Hopkins said.  “Living in the Midwest, we don’t have a lot of opportunities to visit Texas, so it was great to get to see Texas A&M and be able to share the experience with family, friends and Dr. Pietrantonio and her husband at the award reception.”

Pietrantonio was very excited for Hopkins and was very proud of his accomplishments.

“I am personally extremely proud of Brad accomplishments both academically and in his current position at Dow AgroSciences, for which he was also recognized with an award in 2014.”

“I attended the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Awards Recognition Banquet and it was truly inspiring to see Brad and other early career Aggies following on the footsteps of so many other, more senior former students that have shown academic and work leadership, integrity and community service,” she said.  “As a professor, students like Brad validate our work and the reasons why we are here for–to contribute to maintaining our tradition of academic excellence, development of valuable human resources and through them, serve society both in the short and long terms.”

Pietrantonio also noted that Hopkins was an inspiration to others in the field.

“Brad is a role model for his fellow entomology students and of what they can achieve through tenacity, motivation, applying their talent and fostering their own curiosity,” she said.

Former Grad Student Receives Award from Malaysian Government

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Chin Heo, center, with Dato' Kamel Mohamad, Deputy Secretary General of Higher Education in Malaysia (left), and Associate Prof. Dr. Puzziawati Abdul Ghani (right)
Chin Heo, center, with Dato’ Kamel Mohamad, Deputy Secretary General of Higher Education in Malaysia (left), and Associate Prof. Dr. Puzziawati Abdul Ghani (right)

The Department of Entomology would like to congratulate former Ph.D. student Chong Chin Heo as he received the highest honor from the Malaysian government during a special ceremony held at the Embassy of Malaysia in Washington, D.C. on November 5.

Chong Chin Heo received the Perdana Scholar Award in the Research, Innovation and Publication category from the Malaysian government. Given to selected Malaysian students that have studied in the United States, the award’s goal is to identify, document and promote Malaysia students that have excelled in academics, leadership sports, entrepeneurship, innovation and research in their studies.

He was the only recipient that was in the Research, Innovation and Publication category. Heo was recognized for his outstanding work in research while being mentored under Dr. Jeffery Tomberlin.

Heo’s research project was titled “Sensitivity of Arthropod and Microbial Communities Associated with Vertebrate Carrion in Response to Delayed Blow Fly Access: Implication for Carrion Ecology and Forensic Entomology”. His research was in collaboration with Dr. Tawni Crippen – USDA – ARS and Dr. Jacqueline Ann Aitkenhead-Peterson from the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University.

“I am very proud of Chin and his accomplishments during his PhD research,” Tomberlin said. “This award is quite prestigious and demonstrates the quality research he conducted.”

Heo was very excited and proud to receive the award. “I must thank FLIES lab (especially my advisor, Dr Jeffery Tomberlin), my PhD committees, and The Entomology Department, Texas A&M University, for nurturing me and shaping me into a researcher,” he said. “I am also grateful to the Malaysian Government who has been aware and appreciate our effort in venturing carrion ecology and forensic entomology.”