Professor of Entomology, University of Georgia
We are a diverse group of ecologists, joined by our common interest in finding natural solutions to problems in species conservation, sustainable agriculture, and human health. Ecological problem-solving can be a particularly powerful way to uncover basic knowledge about species interactions, and all of our work contributes to a fundamental understanding of how ecosystems function. Our goal is to reduce the conflict between species conservation and feeding a growing human population. In fact, we find that restoring and maintaining natural biodiversity is often the key to managing pests while providing safe and healthy food.
Field work, often on the farms of collaborating growers or in nearby natural areas, is a key part of every project in the laboratory. Our research focuses on organisms ranging from wild birds, to predatory insects and insect-killing pathogens, to mosquitoes. Several newer projects examine the ecology of insect-transmitted human, animal, and plant pathogens. Our new molecular lab is helping us dive head-first into the world of eco-genomics, while some lab members add statistical, modeling, or GIS components to their projects.