Master of Coin
Dave Crowder
Professor of Entomology
Director of the WSU Decision Aid Systems
Assistant Director – WSU Molecular Plant Sciences Graduate Program
Dave oversees what has been described as “a tight shipwreck”. CV
Lab Coordinator
Liesl Oeller
Liesl has the lab’s hardest jobs – to keep Dave focused and limit the tasks he is responsible for. They have done these jobs amazingly well since 2022.
Postdocs and Research Professors
Dr. Javier Gutierrez Illan (Research Associate Professor)
Javier uses ecological modelling to study invasive species and is a major contributor to the Entomology department through his efforts in teaching and pesticide education training. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2025.
Dr. Gengping Zhu (Research Assistant Professor)
Gengping is interested in distributional ecology and ecological niche modeling, with a particular focus on invasive insect pests. He became a Research Assistant Professor in 2022.
Dr. Diego Rincon (Postdoc)
Diego is evaluating pest population dynamics. He received his BS from Pontificia Universidad and his PhD from Ohio State. His work is “old school”
Dr. Riley Anderson (Postdoc)
Riley is the lab’s statistics guru. He received his BS from the U Nevada Reno and his PhD in Biology from Wesleyan. He lives on a boat in Connecticut.
Dr. Owusu Aidoo (Postdoc)
Owusu focuses on modeling invasive species distributions and impacts. He has a MS from the U of Ghana and a PhD from the University of Bonn.
Dr. Jose-Maria (Chema) Garcia Carrasco (Postdoc)
Chema is interested in disease ecology and pathogeography, and is working on tick-borne diseases impacting cattle in the US and North America.
Graduate Students
Emily Rampone
PhD Candidate in Entomology
Emily is focused on helping farmers make decisions. She received her BA from the U of Vermont and has a decade of experience working in the Senate.
Camille Wagstaff
PhD Candidate in Molecular Plant Sciences
Camille focuses on insect-borne pathogens and received her BS in Anthropology from Boise State. She is active in MPS and doing outreach.
Salena Helmreich
PhD Candidate in Entomology
Salena is assessing the biology and health of wild and managed bees in various crop systems
Chase Baerlocher
PhD Candidate in Molecular Plant Sciences
Chase is studying how biotic and abiotic stressors affect legume-rhizobia interactions in dryland cropping systems.
Taydin Macon
PhD Candidate in Entomology
Taydin received his BS in Physics and BA in Philosophy from Loyola Marymount. His work focuses on honey bee health.
Michelle Marcano
MS Candidate in Entomology
Michelle is interested in spatial ecology of vector-borne pathogens. She has a BS from Simon Bolivar University and a MS from Malaga U.
Tay Stevens
PhD Candidate in Molecular Plant Sciences
Tay received their BS from Queens University of Charlotte and then worked at the University of Utah. As an MPS student they are exploring host exudates in a biofuel crop and a traditional First Foods of the Nimíipuu.
Technical Staff
Jesse Trammell
Decision Aid System Lead Developer
Jesse oversees the DAS team working on our tree fruit, potato, and other platforms. He is based in Charlotte, NC.
Christopher Gorman
Biological Science Technician
Chris is conducting molecular diagnostics of plant pathogens in potato pests of the Columbia Basin. He received his MS in Plant Pathology from Auburn and is based in Yakima, WA.
Izzy McDonald
Decision Aid System Developer
Izzy joined the lab in 2023 to assist with research on codling moth population dynamics modeling. After graduation he became a developer for the Decision Aid System. He is currently based in Seattle, WA.
Undergraduate Students
Abigail Clough
Pursuing BS in Zoology (Entomology minor)
Abigail joined the lab fall of 2024 and is assisting with various molecular ecology projects
Madelyn Clemenson
Pursuing BS in Microbiology
Madelyn assists with molecular projects to characterize plant–virus relationships.
Anica Reimer
Pursuing BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Anica assists with molecular projects to characterize plant–virus relationships.
Lanie Call
Pursuing BS in Horticulture
Lanie is a senior in Horticulture who is doing a research internship on the molecular ecology of aphid feeding on pea plants.
Ben Swanzey
Pursuing BS in Computer Science
Ben is working on upgrading the infrastucture of our Decision Aid System platform as part of a computer science capstone project.
Jack Underhill
Pursuing BS in Computer Science
Jack is working on upgrading the infrastucture of our Decision Aid System platform as part of a computer science capstone project.
Trisha Teredesai
Pursuing BS in Computer Science
Trisha is working on upgrading the infrastucture of our Decision Aid System platform as part of a computer science capstone project.
Dante Meyer
Pursuing BS in Computer Science
Dante is working on upgrading the infrastucture of our Decision Aid System platform as part of a computer science capstone project.
Kieran McHugh
Pursuing BS in Computer Science
Kieran is working on upgrading the infrastucture of our Decision Aid System platform for insect monitoring as part of a computer science capstone project.
Son Nguyen
Pursuing BS in Computer Science
Son is working on upgrading the infrastucture of our Decision Aid System platform for insect monitoring as part of a computer science capstone project.
Lab Alumni
Dr. Saumik Basu
(Postdoc 2017-2023, Research Assistant Professor, 2023-2024)
Saumik studied molecular and biochemical aspects of virus transmission by aphids. He is now an Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Georgia in Tifton, GA.
Dr. Savannah Bartel
(Postdoc 2022-2024)
Savannah evaluated effects of Tasmanian devil declines on scavenging food webs. She currently works as a research scientist at the US Geological Survey in Boise, ID.
Olivia Shaffer
MS in Entomology (2021-2023)
Olivia tested if stability of plant-pollinator networks was mediated by landscape composition. She is currently a data scientist based in Spokane, WA.
Dr. Dowen Jocson
PhD in Entomology (2018-2023)
Dowen worked on acoustic mating disruption for pear psylla. She currently works for the WSU Pesticide Education Program in Pullman, WA.
Jillian Foutz
MS in Entomology (2020-2023)
Jillian worked with beet leafhopper to understand how the insects move across landscapes. She currently works as a research scientist based in Yakima, WA.
Megan Blance
MS in Entomology (2020-2022)
Megan worked on understanding outbreaks of insect pest populations in cereal crops. She is currently a data scientist for Wilbur Ellis based in Seattle, WA.
Dr. Vera Pfeiffer
Postdoc (2019-2022)
Vera used landscape genetics to study how canola influenced bumble bees. She is currently working for the Washington Department of Ecology in Olympia, WA.
Dr. Abigail Cohen
PhD in Entomology (2016-2021)
Abigail assessed factors affecting psyllid populations and Liberibacter. She is currently a postdoc at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI.
Dr. Ben Lee
PhD in Entomology (2016-2021)
Ben explored how predators affected the spread of plant viruses. He is an Agroecologist for the California Department of Food and Agriculture in Davis, CA.
Pooja Malhotra
MS in Entomology (2019-2021)
Pooja conducted research on how rhizobial bacteria affect interactions between aphids, pea plants, and viruses. She works as a grant coordinator at the University of Georgia in Tifton, GA.
Dr. Robert Clark
Postdoc (2016-2020, Research Assistant Professor 2020-2023)
Rob studied how host plant variation and predator effects impact vector biology. He currently runs a consulting company based in Plantsville, CT. (https://www.ecodata.tech/)
Liesl Oeller
MS in Entomology (2018-2020)
Liesl’s MS thesis focused on understanding pests in quinoa crops. After a stint in Michigan they looped back to Pullman to become the lab coordinator.
Dr. Rae Olsson
PhD in Entomology (2015-2020)
Rae’s PhD dissertation focused on pollinator health in canola crops. They are currently an Assistant Professor of Entomology at WSU in Pullman, WA.
Maggie Freeman
MS in Entomology (2017-2019)
Maggie worked on the invasive lily leaf beetle. She is currently a lab manager at Oregon State in Hood River, OR. She once said to Dave “you’re kind of a science slut”.
Dr. Eli Bloom
PhD in Entomology (2013-2019)
Eli studied the stability and diversity of native pollinator communities in urban and organic farming systems. He is currently a postdoc at Cornell in Ithaca, NY.
Dr. Robert Schaeffer
Postdoc (2016-2018)
Robert studied cross-kingdom interactions involving plants, pollinators, and microbes in natural and agricultural systems. He is an Assistant Professor at Utah State in Logan, UT.
Dr. Robert Orpet
PhD in Entomology (2014-2018)
Robert assessed factors influencing the population dynamics of woolly apple aphids. He is currently is an Assistant Professor at Oregon State in Central Point, OR.
Dr. Paul Chisholm
PhD in Entomology (2013-2017)
Paul studied plant-insect-virus interactions, using the pea aphid and legumes as a model system. He currently works as a forestry consultant based in Rapid City, SD.
Dr. Ivan Milosavljevic
PhD in Entomology (2011-2015)
Postdoc (2015-2016)
Ivan studied the ecology and management of wireworms in cereal crop systems. He currently works as for the Citrus Board in California in Riverside, CA.
Dr. Eric Moise
Postdoc (2016)
Eric studied community and disease ecology, using the potato psyllid and Solanaceous plants as his model system. He is currently a research leader at the Canadian Forest Service on Prince Edwards Island.
Dr. Elinor Lichtenberg
Postdoc (2013-2015)
Elinor’s research focused on the effects of farming landscapes on pollinator behavior. She is currently an assistant professor at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX.
Elizabeth D’Auria
MS in Entomology (2013-2015)
Lizz developed decision-support tools to improve pest management for potato crop. She is currently a lab manager at Cornell in Ithaca, NY.
Elliott Moon
MS in Statistics (2011-2013)
Elliott studied landscape ecology of herbivorous and predacious insect communities. He works as a GIS technician in Seattle, WA.