The Graduate Student Senate recognized members at its annual awards banquet on March 27, 2023. Our very own Kassie Hollabaugh, a doctoral student with a concentration in organismal biology, ecology, and systematics, was recognized with the award for Outstanding Contributions to GSS and the Graduate Student Senator of the Year Award.
Corey Day, an entomology and plant pathology graduate student, recently published a paper entitled “ Geographically persistent clusters of La Crosse virus disease in the Appalachian region of the United States from 2003 to 2021” in collaboration with Rebecca Trout Fryxell, associate professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and Agricola Odoi, professor of epidemiology and assistant dean for research and graduate studies in the Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences. The full article can be found here.
Congratulations to Corey Day for passing his qualifying exams this fall semester. Day is advised by Dr. Trout Fryxell.
Congratulations to Matthew Huff for passing his qualifying exams this fall semester. Huff is advised by Dr. Staton.
Zachariah Hansen, assistant professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, collaborated with colleagues within the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture to publish a sample budget for large-scale commercial bell pepper operations. To view the sample budget, visit https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/W831.pdf.
Professor Rebecca Trout Fryxell published an article entitled “Diversifying the Halls of a Middle School Science Wing”. The article discusses how images of scientists can shift student perceptions of who a scientist is and what a scientist does. To read the full article, visit https://academic.oup.com/ae/diversifying-the-halls-of-a-middle-school-science-wing.
East Tennessee is burdened by mosquito-borne La Crosse virus disease, but minimal resources for mosquito surveillance, management, or related community education exist in the region. To address these needs, we developed a program to train middle and high school educators in basic medical entomology. The educators then used their skills in the classroom to teach students about La Crosse virus disease and conduct mosquito collection experiments. As a case study of a potential application of classroom-collected data, we also partnered with a local non-profit organization to assess the potential for a volunteer litter cleanup to reduce mosquito populations in a Tennessee neighborhood. To learn more about community efforts to monitor and manage Aedes mosquitoes in east Tennessee, visit
Zachariah Hansen, assistant professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, collaborated with colleagues within the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture to publish a sample budget for small-scale commercial tomato operations. To view the sample budget, visit https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/W1125.pdf.
Soybean farmers rely on a combination of cultural practices, variety resistance and fungicides to manage diseases. Heather Kelly, professor and Extension specialist with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, leads research to provide farmers the information they need to effectively use these tools. “We’ve developed and adapted our sentinel plot program to monitor soybean diseases and the pathogens’ sensitivity to common fungicides,” she says. “We also screen soybean varieties to understand their levels of disease resistance and fungicide efficacy to equip farmers to make sound management decisions.” The Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board invests checkoff dollars in supporting Kelly’s research. Each year, she works with county Extension agents and farmers to monitor 10 to 12 sentinel plots in
Entomology and Plant Pathology researchers have published the 2023 Insect Control Recommendations for Field Crops. The publication details insect control recommendations for cotton, soybean, field corn, sorghum, wheat and pasture. To view the publication, visit https://extension.tennessee.edu/insect-control-recommendations.