I joined Dr. Aaron Gassmann’s lab as a research assistant in early 2019. The project I am involved with entails characterizing resistance to Cry34/35Ab1 toxins in western corn rootworm (WCR) (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) through genetic mapping. In addition, we will be characterizing the inheritance of, and fitness tradeoffs associated with, Cry34/35Ab1 resistance.
Before joining the Gassmann lab, I had obtained my BSc in crop sciences from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 2016. At UIUC, I largely focused on plant-microbe interactions. I went on from there to obtain a MSc in entomology and nematology from University of Florida (UF) in 2018. My research project at UF largely focused on the role antimicrobial plant sprays have on the endosymbionts communities of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri.
