Mother of Dragons and Head of Finance
Dave Crowder
Professor of Entomology
Director of the WSU Decision Aid Systems
Affiliate Faculty – Graduate Program in Molecular Plant Sciences
Dave uses theory, experiments, and observational studies to assess the ecology of insects in agricultural systems. more
Lab Coordinator
Liesl Oeller
Liesl received their MS in Entomology in 2019. They keep Dave on task so that the lab and DAS run smoothly; Liesl has our lab’s hardest job.
Postdoctoral Scientists and Research Professors
Dr. Javier Illan (Research Assistant Professor)
Javier uses ecological modelling to study invasive species and biodiversity, and is involved in teaching and outreach in Entomology and Pesticide Education.
Dr. Gengping Zhu (Research Assistant Professor)
Gengping is interested in distributional ecology and ecological niche modeling, with a particular focus on invasive insect pests.
Dr. Diego Rincon (Postdoctoral Scholar)
Diego is evaluating pest population dynamics. He received his BS in Biology from Pontificia Universidad and his PhD from Ohio State.
Dr. Riley Anderson (Postdoctoral Scholar)
Riley is the lab’s statistics guru. He received his BS from the U Nevada Reno and his PhD in Biology from Wesleyan.
Dr. Owusu Aidoo (Postdoctoral Scholar)
Owusu focuses on modeling invasive species distributions and impacts. He has a MS from the U of Ghana and a PhD from the U of Bonn.
Dr. Jose-Maria (Chema) Garcia Carrasco (Postdoctoral Scholar)
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 and joined the lab in 2023. Their 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.
Technical Staff
Stefano Borghi
Decision Aid System Lead Developer
Stefano oversees the DAS team working on our tree fruit and potato platforms. He is originally from Bologna and went to the U of Bologna.
Jesse Trammel
Decision Aid System Developer
Jesse is a developer for the DAS who is currently based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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.
Anna Rodgers
Biological Science Technician
Anna joined the lab in summer 2020 and continued as a technician after graduating in 2023. She helps manage the molecular lab.
Jea-hee Kwak
Biological Science Technician
Jea-hee is conducting chemical analysis of pheromones for improved hornet traps. She received her MS in Plant Pathology from WSU.
Izzy McDonald
Data Analytics Technician
Izzy joined the lab in 2023 to assist with research on codling moth population dynamics modeling, and continued in the lab after graduation.
Kate Prophet
Data Analytics Technician
Kate joined the lab in 2023 and is working on modeling population dynamics of potato pests; she continued in the lab after graduation
Undergraduate Students
Ari Espinosa
Pursuing BS in Biology with an Entomology Minor
Ari joined the lab summer of 2022 and is assisting with various molecular ecology projects
Logan Mock
Pursuing BS in Computer Science
Logan joined the lab in 2024 and is working on improving the WSU Decision Aid System
Audrey Coon
Pursuing BS in Microbiology
Audrey joined the lab fall of 2024 and is assisting with various molecular ecology projects
Abigail Clough
Pursuing BS in Zoology (Entomology minor)
Abigail joined the lab fall of 2024 and is assisting with various molecular ecology projects
Lab Alumni
Dr. Saumik Basu
(Postdoc 2017-202023, Research Assistant Professor, 2023-2024)
Saumik studied molecular and biochemical aspects of virus transmission by aphids, and led our molecular lab. He is now an assistant professor at the U of Georgia.
Dr. Savannah Bartel
Savannah evaluated the cascading effects of Tasmanian devil declines on scavenging food webs. She now works as a scientist at the US Geological Survey./
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 in the private sector.
Dr. Dowen Jocson
PhD in Entomology (2018-2023)
Dowen worked on mate disruption for pear psylla and won the 2023 John Henry Comstock Award. She currently works for the WSU Pesticide Education Program.
Jillian Foutz
MS in Entomology (2020-2023)
Jillian worked with beet leafhopper to understand how the insects move from weedy non-crop hosts into potatoes. She currently works for the USDA-ARS.
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 in Seattle, WA.
Dr. Vera Pfeiffer
Postdoc (2019-2022)
Vera used landscape genetics to study how canola influenced bumble bee populations. She is currently working for the Washington State Department of Ecology
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
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.
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 technician at the Uof Georgia.
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 (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 manager.
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.
Maggie Freeman
MS in Entomology (2017-2019)
Maggie conducted research on biological control of lily leaf beetle. She is currently a lab manager at Oregon State.
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
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
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.
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 for the US Forest Service
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.
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
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 U of North Texas
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
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