Graduate Students
Robert Holdcraft — M.S. student (2012 to present)
Rob studies mating disruption of the oriental beetle in blueberries. He is also testing novel attract-and-kill approaches for oriental beetle control.
Email: Rob Holdcraft
Chelsea Abegg — PhD student (2019-present)
Chelsea is studying the effects of pesticides on honey bees. She is also evaluating methods to mitigate the negative effects of pesticides on honey bees.
Email: Chelsea Abegg
Yahel Ben-Zvi — PhD student (2021-present)
Yahel is studying the roles of herbivore-induced plant volatiles on tri-trophic interactions at multiple spatial scales.
E-mail: Yahel Ben-Zvi
Jae Kerstetter — PhD student (2022-present)
Jae is investigating the genetic variation among wild and domesticated blueberry populations in New Jersey, as well as the variation in constitutive and inducible defensive traits and its implications in insect-plant interactions.
Email: Jae Kerstetter
Haotian Liu — PhD student (2023-present)
Haotian is studying the bottom-up effects of fertilizer on plant-insect-pathogen interactions. He is also studying the bottom-up effects of blueberry soil quality on plant resistance against insect herbivores.
Email: Haotian Liu
Jack Collins — MS student (2023-present)
Jack is studying the compatibility of behavioral and biological strategies to manage spotted-wing drosophila.
Email: Jack Collins
- Amanda Quadrel – M.S. student, Entomology, Rutgers University (2021-2023). Project title: “Novel sources of semiochemicals to manipulate spotted-wing drosophila behavior in blueberries”.
- Timothy Lampasona – (co-advised with Dr. Anne Nielsen). Ph.D. student, Entomology, Rutgers University (2017-2022). Project title: “Host-Associated Behavior, Ecology, and Fitness of the Plum Curculio Conotrachelus nenuphar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Peach and Blueberry”.
- Nakorn Pradit – Ph.D. student, Entomology, Rutgers University (2015-2019). Project title: “Phytoplasma-Mediated Manipulation of Plant-Herbivore Interactions in the American Cranberry”.
- Caryn Michel – M.S. non-thesis, Entomology, Rutgers University (2014-2018). Project title: “Landscape Effects on the Spatial Distribution of Spotted Wing Drosophila in Blueberries”.
- Diego Fraga – (co-advised with Dr. Antonio Carlos Busoli). Ph.D. student, Agricultural Entomology, Sao Paulo State University (2012-2016). Project title: “Chemical Ecology in the Biological Control of Pests and their Predators and Parasitoids”.
- Jordano Salamanca – (co-advised with Dr. Brigida Souza). Ph.D. student, Entomology, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) (2013-2016). Project title: “Use of Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles for Manipulating Natural Enemies in Agro-ecosystems”.
- Matthew Strom – M.S. non-thesis, Ecology and Evolution, Rutgers University (2012-2017). Project title: “Guidelines for Effective Evolution Education”.