People

Flor Acevedo

Assistant professor of Entomology (Penn State Behrend)

Jared Ali

Associate Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology; Director of the Center for Chemical Ecology; Acting Director, Ecology Institute; Associate Professor of Entomology
Behavior and chemical ecology of multi-trophic interactions, including plant responses to below-ground herbivory and nematode. Insect community ecology, chemical ecology, and coevolution. Trophic cascades, above- and below-ground interactions, chemotaxis of soil nematodes, and evolution of plant defense strategies.

Etya Amsalem

Associate Professor of Entomology
The evolutionary development and the mechanistic basis of social behavior in insects using an integrative approach encompassing chemical, genetic and physiological tools

Tom Baker

Distinguished Professor of Entomology and Chemical Ecology

Dave Biddinger

Research Professor; Tree Fruit Research Entomologist

John Carlson

Professor of Molecular Genetics; Director, Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics
Genome mapping, including genetic linkage mapping, molecular cytogenetics; studies of genetic diversity in forests.

Huanyu Cheng

Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics

Surinder Chopra

Professor of Maize Genetics
Regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis during plant development and plant-pathogen interaction. Epigenetic regulation and allele specific patterns.

Francisco Dini-Andreote

Huck Early Career Chair in Microbial Community Ecology, Assistant Professor of Plant Science
Microbiome, plant-microbe interactions, and community ecology. Harnessing the plant microbiome to enhance protection against biotic and abiotic stresses.

Gary Felton

Professor and Department Head of Entomology
Plant-herbivore interactions. Adaptive responses of herbivores to plant defenses. Herbivore cues recognized by plants with specific focus on biochemical and molecular analysis of salivary secretions.

David Geiser

Professor of Mycology
Molecular evolutionary genetics of pathogenic and toxigenic fungi.

Christina Grozinger

Director of the Center for Pollinator Research; Director of the Insect Biodiversity Center; Publius Vergilius Maro Professor and Huck Scholar of Entomology
Genomics of social behavior and health in bees

John Hayes

Professor of Food Science; Director, Sensory Evaluation Center
Perception of taste, smell and chemesthesis; eating behavior; individual differences in sensation and food preferences; COVID related anosmia

Sara Hermann

Assistant Professor of Arthropod Ecology and Trophic Interactions

Kelli Hoover

Professor of Entomology
Invasive species of forest insects; plant-insect-entomopathogen interactions; impacts of plants on pathogenesis; biological control of hemlock woolly adelgid

Helene Hopfer

Associate Professor of Food Science

Seogchan Kang

Professor of Plant Pathology & Environmental Microbiology
Genetic and cellular mechanisms underpinning plant-fungal interactions with Arabidopsis thaliana and Fusarium oxysporum as a model system. Molecular genetics and comparative genomics of fungal plant pathogens. Bioinformatics.

Jessica Kansman

Postdoctoral Researcher

Joshua Kellogg

Emphasis Area Representative, Molecular Toxicology; Assistant Professor of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Development of new metabolomics tools for chemical and biological characterization of complex systems. Discovery of new natural products from plants and microorganisms with novel bioactivity against pathogenic fungi and neglected tropical diseases. Bioanalytical techniques to probe the mechanism of action and basic biology of these target organisms. Ethnobotany and indigenous knowledge surrounding plant-based medicine.

Monica Kersch-Becker

Assistant Professor of Entomology