Fall Quarter Seminars Announced

Nematologist Amanda Hodson, assistant professor of soil ecology and pest management, and coordinator of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's seminars for the 2024-25 academic year, has announced the list of fall quarter seminars

All seminars, except for the Michael Hoffmann lecture, will take place at 4:10 p.m. in Room 122 of Briggs Hall. The Hoffmann seminar is the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Award Seminar, and will take place in the Putah Creek Lodge (see below).

Topics range from honey bees and butterflies to nematodes and biological control. Plans call for most of the seminars to be broadcast on Zoom. The Zoom link: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

The list of seminars:

Sept. 30 
Kyle Wickings
Department of Entomology, Cornell University
Title: “Composition and Function of Soil Invertebrate Communities in Residential Greenspaces”

Oct. 7
Juliana Rangel Posada
Professor of Apiculture, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University
Title: “Don’t Compromise: Food Lipid Content Shapes Protein-Lipid Regulation in Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Nurses”

Oct. 14, Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Award Seminar
Michael Hoffmann
Professor Emeritus, Cornell University
Title: “Our Changing Menu: Using the Power of Food to Confront Climate Change”
This will take place beginning at 4 p.m. in the Putah Creek Lodge and will include a social, lecture and dinner. Reservations closed. (See more)

Oct. 21
Andrew Corbett
Research Affiliate, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (formerly with the lab of Jay Rosenheim, now UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus)
Title: "In Silico Experiments with the Effect of Natural Habitats on Biological Control in Agricultural Landscapes."

Oct. 28
Jolene Saldivar
UC Davis Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, lab of Professor Louie Yang
Title: "Disturbance in Coastal Sage Scrub and the Implications for Migratory Butterflies”

Nov. 4
Eliza Litsey
Former graduate student, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, honey bee lab of Elina Niño
Exit Seminar (Litsey received her master's degree in entomology in June 2024 from UC Davis and is now a laboratory technician at the lab of research entomologist Julia Fine, USDA/ARS, based in Davis. Litzey also holds a bachelor's degree from UC Davis)

Nov. 18 (will not on Zoom)
Andre Custodio Franco
Assistant Professor, Indiana University Bloomington
Title: "Deciphering the Soil Macrobiome: Belowground Communities Driving Ecosystem Responses to Global Change”

Nov. 25
Christine Sprunger
Associate Professor of Soil Health at Michigan State University
Title: "Nematodes as Bioindicators of Soil Health and Climate Resiliency”

Dec. 2
Inga Zasada
Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS
Title: "How an Applied Nematolgist Uses Genomic Tools to Address Plant-Parasitic Nematode Research”

For more information, contact Hodson at akhodson@ucdavis.edu