Bug Talk

We talked to Jessica Ware and Megan Wilson, both part of the #entopoc team. Check out Episode  29 for an earlier podcast with 3 other members of this organization to find out more about who they are and how they were created. In this episode Zsofia talked with Jessica and Megan about how they paired 40 students with mentors for the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America and how #entopoc provides support for the best meeting experience for these students. We also talked about their recent publication in American Entomologist about "Why diversity matters among those who study diversity". This article is about the state of diversity in entomology, if you don't have access to it and would like to read it, please email entopoc@gmail.com for a copy. We also chatted about Jessica's role as the current vice-president and future president of the Entomological Society of America. Please follow #entopoc on Twitter and Instagram @entopoc and if you have a job opening for an entomologist at any career level, consider posting the ad on their website.*Thanks to Jason Roedel, audio engineer, for improving the sound quality and for Matt Grieshop for the music!

In this episode Lauren Goldstein talks with Ben Phillips, who is a Vegetable Crops Educator at Michigan State University (https://www.canr.msu.edu/people/benjamin_phillips). Ben discusses his education and current job responsibilities working with growers.

Dr. Maxime Eeraerts is a new postdoctoral associate in the MSU Entomology Department (https://www.isaacslab.ent.msu.edu/people/lab-members/). He is originally from Belgium, has a background in biological engineering and got interested in honey bees during his M.S. degree. After his Ph.D., he moved to Washington State University in 2021 for 9 months to work on a blueberry pollination project. He is currently housed in Rufus Isaacs' lab and is conducting a meta-analysis to better understand the pollinator dependence of different fruit crops. He is funded by a unique foundation that is intended to increase exchange of knowledge between the US and Belgium. He is also an outdoor enthusiast, biker, runner and will be exploring MI this summer.*Contact/follow us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.Thanks to Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

Laura Ingwell is an assistant professor of horticultural entomology at Purdue University (https://ag.purdue.edu/entm/Pages/Profile.aspx?strAlias=lingwell). First, she talked about her path from dentistry into community ecology and then to entomology. She then shared with us her thoughts about the role of extension, delivering research results to growers and the importance of building personal connections to gain trust.*Contact/follow us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.Thanks to Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

Ke Dong is a professor at Duke University leading a research program on insect toxicology and physiology (https://kedonglab.biology.duke.edu/). In this episode she talked about her childhood growing up on a silkworm experiment station in China, playing with silkworms, and her mother's influence on her interest in biochemistry. She talked about the importance of her mentor during her PhD program, the "two-body problem", and raising her son while managing a research program at Michigan State University. She also shared with us about her new life in North Carolina, including her teaching responsibilities and a new seminar course she created.*Contact/follow us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.Thanks to Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

In this episode Zsofia talked with Dr. Nayeli Carvajal. Nayeli is  starting her postdoc at MSU in the Entomology Department this month. She will be moving from California to Michigan in April just in time to see spring in all its glory! She completed her Ph.D. in Nov. 2021 at the University of California - Irvine  studying the effects of climate change on insect-plant interactions. During her postdoc, she will be working on determining how heat waves affect potatoes and its associated pests. Outside of research, Nayeli is passionate about plants, hiking, she also enjoys reading and cooking. Check out her website: https://nayelicarvajal.weebly.com/*Contact/follow us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.Thanks to Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

Zsofia and Jean Tsao (https://www.canr.msu.edu/people/jean_tsao; former guest of the podcast on Ep. 62) cohosted this episode featuring Dr. Jannelle Couret, a first-generation Afro-Caribbean/Latina scientist. She researches the biology of arthropod vectors and the eco-epidemiology of vector-borne human pathogens. She completed her PhD in Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution of Infectious Disease at Emory University. We chatted with her about how she found her current faculty position and a unique fellowship she had as a postdoc. Check out her website for some of the fantastic art we talked about during the podcast: http://www.vectorbiology.org/*Contact/follow us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.Thanks to Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

Dr. Megan Fritz (http://www.meganfritzlab.com/people.html) is alumna of the MSU Department of Entomology.  She sat down in person with Zsofia to talk about career and family. She chatted about being an undergraduate research assistant in an entomology lab, being inspired by the people around her to choose entomology as a career, and going to grad school without getting an M.S. first. Meghan also discussed her choice to start a family in graduate school, raising children while completing her Ph.D., the role of a supportive adviser and community to be able to do this and thinking about why it might be a good option for some to have kids during this time of life.*Contact/follow us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.Thanks to Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

Dr. Ned Walker (https://www.canr.msu.edu/people/edward_walker) is a professor in the Entomology Department at Michigan State University. His work focuses on mosquitos, ticks and other insects important from a human health perspective. In this conversation, Ned talked about his life growing up in Ohio, getting into medical entomology during his undergrad, growing his interest in mosquito ecology and eventually coming to MSU as a postdoc in Rich Merritt's aquatic entomology lab. After getting his current position, he developed an international research program that took him to many different countries around the World. It is interesting that Ned's life today would be very different if it wasn't for an early mentor he met in college who encouraged and taught him at a critical time of his life. Ned also talked about his love of music, playing the guitar and being in bands.Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!*Contact/follow us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.*Visit us on our YouTube channel.

In this episode Zsofia talked with Dr. Inga Zasada, nematologist with the USDA-ARS based out of Corvallis, OR (https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/corvallis-or/horticultural-crops-research/people/zasada-inga/). We chatted about how Inga was inspired by her scientist parents and growing up in Alaska and Oregon to want to become a biologist. She also talked about her unusual path to nematology, including being a Peace Corps volunteer on the Maltese Islands for 2 years where she had to learn on the job. We chatted about her graduate education at North Carolina State University and UC Davis and then working for the USDA as a nematologist.  Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!*Contact us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.*Visit us on our YouTube channel.

This episode features Dr. Hannah Burrack, incoming chair of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University (https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/canr-names-new-chair-to-lead-department-of-entomology). This new position starts on Jan. 1, 2022, and in this episode we chatted about her background and thoughts on leadership. Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!*Contact us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.*Visit us on our YouTube channel.

In this episode Julie and Zsofia talked with Raul Medina (https://medinalab.tamu.edu/), professor of entomology at Texas A&M. Raul received the Entomological Society of America's 2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Award. We chatted about how foreign-born people currently living in the US can work with US-born minorities to strengthen each other, how he came to connect his personal experiences to societal issues and how he has been active in the DEI movement since his time as a young professional. We discussed issues such as implicit bias, you can take the Harvard test we mentioned here: (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html). We also talked about why it is sometimes difficult to have conversations about DEI and what we can do to normalize these.Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo! *Contact us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.*Visit us on our YouTube channel.

Jen and Zsofia talked to Dr. Julio Bernal (https://entomology.tamu.edu/people/bernal-julio/), professor of entomology at Texas A&M.  Julio told us about his background in agriculture and how he got interested in entomology. He also told us about his graduate education and postdoc working with citrus biocontrol. We also chatted about the structure of the A&M system and the undergraduate and graduate programs in his department.Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!*Contact us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.*Visit us on our YouTube channel.

The MSU Entomology Department is very fortunate to have a wonderful new group of graduate students joining us in 2021. This episode features five of these new grad students: Cynthia Fiser, Julie Michaelson, Ronnie Miller, Charlotte Schuttler and Lauren Goldstein. We talked about how they selected graduate schools, why they ended up choosing MSU and what were the things they looked for in this selection process. We also discussed their future career plans and what skills they hope to learn in graduate school that will help them in finding a job. We talked about Ecolog( https://halllab.asu.edu/how-to-join-the-ecolog-job-board/), a list serve that some people in our discipline use to find graduate student positions.Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo! *Contact us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.*Visit us on our YouTube channel.

If you are interested in graduate school and are considering joining our department, this episode will provide you with a wealth of information about where to start this process. Dr. Anthony Cognato (Graduate Program Director) and Heather Lenartson (Administrative Assistant to the Chairperson and Academic Programs) talk about topics related to admission to graduate school and what you should expect. You can find resources on the MSU Entomology department website about finding a major professor, funding and the application process. Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!  *Contact us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter. *Visit us on our YouTube channel.

Dr. Anthony Cognato (Graduate Program Director) and Heather Lenartson (Administrative Assistant to the Chairperson and Academic Programs) talked about this year's new grad student orientation, the new Student Information System that replaces much of the physical paperwork for both PhD and MS students and allows them and their committee members to track their progress online, different types of MSU fellowship, application process for those interested in being considered for MSU fellowships/assistantships, graduate guidance committee composition, etc. We will be back with another episode about details of the application process to graduate school.Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!  *Contact us @bugtalkpodcast on Instagram or Twitter.*Visit us on our YouTube channel.

Zsofia talks to Henry Mochida (mochidah@msu.edu), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Communications Manager at Michigan State University. Henry works to strategically elevate MSU’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, practices, and programming with staff in University Communications and the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives.  We talked about his cultural heritage,  growing up in Hawaii, his film making career, interest in economics and his current position at MSU.  Watch Henry's films: Blue Tarp City (master’s thesis / award winner – native Hawaiian homelessness in Waianae)Place of Hope (community mobilizing / raised $25k+ – impact of 2011 earthquake on potter community in Japan)Hula in the Zane ʻOhana (hula culture - wait for the Kamehameha butterfly!)Say No to Pipelines (advocacy / award winner – activism to stop the building of the Kindermorgan pipeline)What is IGR? (institutional storytelling / award winner – video production series)MSU Juneteenth Celebration (Juneteenth – institutional remarks)You can follow Bug Talk on Twitter and Instagram @bugtalkpodcast. Subscribe to our Youtube channel to see videos of some of the conversations with guests. Thanks to Jason Roedel, audio engineer, for improving sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music, and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

In this episode Andrea Glassmire and Kayleigh Hauri talk with a collaborative research group from Louisiana State University and the LSU Ag Center – Rodrigo Diaz, James Cronin, Laura Meyerson, Tracy Meyerson, Xuelian Meng, John Nyman, Ana Salgado, and Joshua Snook. They are collaborating on a project examining the mechanisms causing the die-off of an important wetland grass system, Phragmites australis, that stabilizes the Louisiana coastline. The Phragmites die-off is a multi-faceted problem, and each collaborator is investigating different aspects of this die-off. The restoration of Phragmites is an applied ecological challenge that will be important for stabilizing the Louisiana coastline, and the only way to accomplish this is using basic research to understand what the mechanisms are.The Phragmites research team includes additional scientists studying the role of plant pathogens, soil microbes, plant volatiles, and Asian parasitoids. For a glimpse, please see the research topics covered here: https://www.lsuagcenter.com/topics/environment/invasive%20species/roseau%20cane%20die-off/researchersYou can follow Bug Talk on Twitter and Instagram @bugtalkpodcast. Subscribe to our Youtube channel to see videos of the conversations with guests. Thanks to Jason Roedel, audio engineer, for improving sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music, and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

In this episode Andrea Glassmire talks with Dr. Walter Carson and graduate students, Cheyenne Moore and Castilleja Olmsted, from the University of Pittsburgh on tips for applying to graduate school in ecology and evolutionary biology. They co-authored a paper in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America that lays out a step-by-step guide on applying to graduate school and how to succeed by choosing the right advisor and program for you. This episode covers how to prepare for graduate school, how to choose a program, the criteria for gaining admission into graduate school, selecting an advisor, selecting a program if you are a parent, and finding an equitable, inclusive, and welcoming graduate program.Please check out their accepted paper in a forthcoming issue of the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America for more information on this topic:Advice on applying to graduate school in ecology and evolutionary biology: how to prepare and a step-by-step guide (2021). WP Carson, SE Kuebbing, TL Betras, AS Campbell, EW McQueen, CL Moore, CF Olmsted, LB Roberts, and NN Washington. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.You can follow Bug Talk on Twitter and Instagram @bugtalkpodcast. Subscribe to our Youtube channel to see videos of the conversations with guests. Thanks to Jason Roedel, audio engineer, for improving sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music, and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

Zsofia and two guest co-hosts, Julianna Wilson (Entomology DEI committee chair) and Elizeth Cinto Meija (representative of Entomology Department on the CANR DEI committee), talked with Drs. Jabbar Bennett (MSU’s Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Professor of Medicine in the College of Human Medicine) and Quentin Tyler (Associate Dean and Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Director of MSU Extension), two leaders at MSU. We asked them about their current positions, their take on what it means to be a good leader, what the pandemic taught them about leadership, how to move forward after the lockdown, balancing personal views with the larger vision of an institution, their views on the future of the university, their mentors and people who inspire them and, what they think the future will bring. If you'd like to find out more about Dr. Bennett, take a listen here and watch this video to learn more about Dr. Tyler.You can follow Bug Talk on Twitter and Instagram @bugtalkpodcast. Subscribe to our Youtube channel to see videos of the conversations with guests. Thanks to Jason Roedel, audio engineer, for improving sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music, and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!