Previous Winners

2009

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Jeffery LaFage Graduate Student Research Award

Nicola Gallagher

Nicola Gallagher is a Ph.D. student at Ohio State University, where she also earned her M.S. degree. Her research is an in-depth investigation of the physiological and behavioral mechanisms involved with water maintenance in subterranean termites. She is hoping her research will provide data that will help resolve how water is transported by termites, potentially leading to new termite control methods, either by directly manipulating the termites’ ability to manage water or reinforcing the importance of a holistic approach to termite management. She has presented many posters and research talks and has five refereed publications to her name.

Award Overview:
This grant encourages research by graduate students in the field of the biology and control of termites or other insect pests of the urban environment. Established as a tribute to the late Jeffery P. LaFage, a professor of urban entomology at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge who specialized in the study of the biology and control of termites. For nearly 10 years before his death, his research activities involved studies of the Formosan subterranean termite and methods of applying this knowledge to the management of this introduced termite.

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Henry and Sylvia Richardson Research Grant

   Karla Addesso

Karla Addesso is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Florida. She received her Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Florida and her B.S. in Biology from the College of New Jersey. Her dissertation research focused on host plant utilization by the pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano. She found that the pepper weevil secretes an oviposition deterring pheromone on the fruit it infests, causing other females to reject the marked fruit as an oviposition site. Her postdoctoral work is focused on isolating, identifying, and testing this oviposition deterring pheromone in small and large scale trials. Field tests of the deterrent will be done in combination with an improved version of the commercially available pepper weevil aggregation pheromone trap in a push-pull management design with the goal of alleviating growers’ heavy reliance on pesticides. The push-pull management strategy combines two technologies for use in controlling pest populations. The 'push' component is applied to the marketable crop and may be a feeding, oviposition or pheromone deterrent that repels insects from the field. The 'pull' component, which can be a volatile and/or pheromone lure or other attractant, is used to draw the insects away from the field to trap out or kill them. When used in combination, the system is more  effective than either technology alone.

Award Overview:

The purpose of this grant is to provide research funds to postdoctoral ESA members who have at least one year of promising work experience, are undertaking research in selected areas, and have demonstrated a high level of scholarship.

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SNODGRASS MEMORIAL RESEARCH AWARD

    Jennifer Zaspel

Jennifer Zaspel, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Minnesota, earned her Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Her M.S. and B.S. degrees were received from the University of Minnesota. Her research "Systematics, biology, and behavior of fruit-piercing and blood-feeding moths in the subfamily Calpinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)" was awarded the University of Florida, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Best Dissertation Award of Excellence in Graduate Research for 2008. This research focuses on the evolutionary relationships and adult feeding behaviors of moths in the tribe Calpini, vampire moths in the genus Calyptra, and their gut symbionts. Jennifer has given both national and international research presentations and has co-authored 10 research publications.

Award Overview:

This award recognizes outstanding research by graduate students who have completed investigations in selected areas of entomology. Since Dr. Snodgrass was a leader in insect morphology, the award recipient must have completed his/her research thesis or dissertation in a related field of entomology. The amount of the monetary prize varies each year; and includes a certificate.

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 KENNETH AND BARBARA STARKS PLANT RESISTANCE TO INSECTS GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD

 
Alexzandra Murphy

Alexzandra Murphy is pursuing her Ph.D. from Purdue University’s Department of Entomology. Her B.S. was received from Oregon State University. Her research project involves characterizing the population dynamics and mating behavior of the western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera Le Conte) under different refuge structures in a Bt corn -refuge system. Transgenic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner) corn (Zea mays L.) provides an alternative control tactic for the western corn rootworm and is being used by growers. Her research investigates the insect resistance management plan for rootworm-resistant corn, which requires that a refuge of susceptible crop plants be planted with the transgenic plants. For the refuge strategy to successfully manage western corn rootworm resistance to Bt corn, susceptible adults emerging from the refuge must disperse and mate randomly with any resistant adults emerging from transgenic corn. She hopes her research will have implications for resistance management of the western corn rootworm in Bt corn.

Award Overview:

Established by an endowment from donations by Kenneth J. and Barbara Starks and additional funding partners, this grant encourages research by graduate students in the field of plant resistance to insects in entomology or plant breeding/genetics. The annual grant consists of a plaque and a research grant dependent on the interest earned from the endowment.

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