Principal Investigator
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Houston Wilson, Ph.D.
UC Berkeley Breakthroughs Magazine (Nov. 2025)
West Coast Nut (Aug. 2020)
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Details coming soon...
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Values comfort above all. What a sweetie. Banned from the Kearney Ag. Center as of March 2021 :/
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Lab Managers
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Nathalie Baena-Bejarano, Ph.D.
Lab Research Supervisor
nathalib@ucr.edu | Google Scholar
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Jimmy is a talkative friendly purr machine who loves walks in the park on his harness
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Reva Scheibner
Staff Research Associate
559-939-8456 (cell) | revas@ucr.edu
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Jimi - the man, the myth, the legend!
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Lino Salinas
Staff Research Associate
linos@ucr.edu
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Postdoctoral Scholars
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Jean (Tzu-Chin) Liu, Ph.D. Project: Development of sterile insect technique for navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella) - currently focused on mark-recapture techniques and automated smart traps for navel orangeworm. Google Scholar Profile | tzuchinl@ucr.edu |
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Lars Laber, Ph.D. Project: Development of sterile insect technique for navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella) - currently focused on use of x-ray and e-beam irradiation for moth sterilization. Google Scholar Profile | larsl@ucr.edu |
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Aldo Hanel, Ph.D. Project: Development of sterile insect technique for navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella) - currently focused on moth flight timing and response to phenyl-propionate lures. Google Scholar Profile | aldo.hanel@ucr.edu |
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Lidya Chala, Ph.D. Project: Influence of sheep grazing and cover crops on orchard sanitation to control navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella). Google Scholar Profile | lidya.chala@ucr.edu |
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Cameron Osborne, Ph.D.
Project 1: Development of molecular markers to identify irradiated navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella)
Project 2: Characterization of fungal community found on Carpophilus truncatus (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)
ORCID Profile | cameron.osborne@ucr.edu
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Zoe - the bob-tailed menace
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Surjeet Arya, Ph.D.
Assistant Project Scientist
Project: Genetic editing of navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella)
Google Scholar Profile | surjeeta@ucr.edu
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Graduate Students
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Marina Mendiola - M.S. Student
Dept. Plant Science, California State University - Fresno
mmendiol@ucr.edu
Thesis: Movement and landscape ecology of leaffooted plant bug (Hemiptera: Coreidae: Leptoglossus zonatus)
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Melissa Thayer - Ph.D. Student
Dept. Entomology, UC Riverside
melissa.thayer@email.ucr.edu
Dissertation: Ecology and monitoring of the black fig fly (Diptera: Lonchaeidae: Silba adipata)
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Stormy - she's 25% bark, 75% fluff |
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Sidney Fernandez - M.S. Student
Dept. Plant Science, California State University - Fresno
sidneyf@ucr.edu
Thesis: Monitoring and movement of leaffooted plant bug (Hemiptera: Coreidae: Leptoglossus zonatus)
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Juan Alonso - M.S. Student
Dept. Plant Science, California State University - Fresno
mmendiol@ucr.edu
Thesis: Developmental biology and soil pupation behavior of the invasive carpophilus beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Carpophilus truncatus)
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Winnifred Aool - Ph.D. Student
Dept. Entomology, UC Riverside
winnifred.aool@ucr.edu
Dissertation: TBD
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Lab Assistants
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Victoria Morelos
Lab Assistant
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Former Grad Students / Postdocs
| Name | Dissertation/Thesis/Project | Position Upon Leaving the Lab |
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Dr. Hannah Stowe
(Postdoc, 2025-2026)
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Integrated pest management in hemp crops
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Senior Scientist @ Living with the Land Greenhouse - Epcot Center - Disney World
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Dr. Joshua Reger
(M.S., 2018-2020)
(Ph.D., 2021-2026)
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Thesis: Effects of strain, irradiation, and shipping on the comparative fitness of navel orangeworm Amyelois transitella and implications for the use of sterile insect technique in California tree nut crops
Dissertation: Movement and flight energetics of navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella) in California orchards
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Postdoctoral Researcher @ Tobin Northfield Lab
Dept. Entomology, Washington State University
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Dr. Kalindu Ramyasoma Hewawasam
(Postdoc, 2025-2026)
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Molecular studies of navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella) |
Senior Scientist
Agragene Inc.
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Dr. Camila Oliveira
(Visiting Scholar, 2022)
(Postdoc, 2024-2025)
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Evaluation of automated traps for regional monitoring of navel orangeworm (Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella) |
Associate Scientist - Field Development
Provivi (Brazil)
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Dr. Shriya Rangarajan
(Postdoc, 2022-2025)
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Collaborative Knowledge Networks for Planning Organic Agriculture Research and Extension in California |
Postdoctoral Scholar
Innovative Genomics Institute
UC Berkeley
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Dr. Kadie Britt
(Postdoc, 2021-2024)
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Integrated Pest Management of Hemp/Cannabis
Areawide IPM for Navel Orangeworm
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IPM Program Manager
Colorado State University
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Dr. Ellie Darling
(Postdoc, 2023-2024)
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Integrated Pest Management of Hemp/Cannabis
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Supervisory Entomologist
USDA APHIS PPQ FO (Brighton, MI)
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Dr. Valeh Ebrahimi
(Postdoc, 2022-2024)
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Biology, monitoring and management of black fig fly (Silba adipata) in California fig orchards
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Senior Environmental Scientist
Division of Plant Health and Pest Detection
California Dept. of Food & Agriculture
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Dr. Dylan Tussey
(Postdoc, 2022-2024)
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Development of sterile insect technique for navel orangeworm (Pyralidae: Amyelois transitella) - focused on use of x-ray irradiation for sterilization. |
Biological Scientist
Insect Mgmt. and Molecular Diagnostics Lab
USDA APHIS PPQ S&T (Phoenix, AZ)
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Dr. Rob Straser
(Ph.D., 2017-2022)
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Floral resource provisioning for possible enhancement of biological control of Leptoglossus zonatus (Hemiptera: Coreidae) by the egg parasitoid Hadronotus (=Gryon) pennsylvanicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae)
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Quantitative Risk Analyst & Agriculturist
USDA APHIS (Ventura, CA)
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Lab Alumni
| 2025/2026 |
German Camacho (lab manager), Anisabel Guzman
UC Organic Agriculture Institute: Krista Marshall, Lexie Wilson, Maria Orozco, and Katharina Ullmann
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| 2024/2025 | Chris Ding, Caroline Schelleng, Amanda Clark |
| 2023/2024 | Sarah Meierotto (lab manager) |
| 2021/2022 | Dani Evans, Celeste Lara, Hector Jacome-Saenz, Lucas Raymond |
| 2019/2020 | Gabby Celaya, Abraham Mendez, Javi Herrera, Jessica Maccaro (lab manager), Tyler Colombero |
| 2017/2018 | Austin Souza |