Two scholars at Washington State University’s Department of Entomology will help make a safer environment for people, animals, and crops through newly announced research fellowships from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
Doctoral students Emily Rampone and Daniel Marshall received predoctoral fellowship awards this summer from the NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). Offered through AFRI’s Education and Workforce Development program, fellowships cultivate future leaders who can solve emerging agricultural challenges.
The two WSU awards were among 68 fellowships totaling $10.6 million given to scholars more than 30 U.S. institutions. Rampone and Marshall received $180,000 and launched their fellowships Aug. 15, 2024.
Tools to manage potato pests
Rampone is interested in improving farmer livelihoods and reducing pesticide applications. Originally from Vermont, she is a research assistant in Professor David Crowder’s lab and former U.S. Senate policy advisor on agriculture and nutrition who went back to school to build a technical background for research addressing policy.
“I chose entomology to build those skills because, growing up, I loved seeing the insects in my mother’s garden,” she said.
Rampone is using big data to develop models and tools for understanding real-time pest population dynamics, helping guide Pacific Northwest growers in management.
“My goal is to reduce the number of pesticide applications farmers need to protect their crops,” she said.
Her work combines a range of models with an online support platform to help all growers know which products to apply and when, reducing unnecessary applications.
“People often assume that pesticide timing is only important for conventional growers, but it is critical for organic producers as well,” she said. “Because organic pesticides tend to be more expensive, our work has the potential to save organic producers even more.”
The fellowship will hone her analytical skills so she can translate research into public policy.
“Policymakers and scientists often ask different questions which makes translating science into policy a challenge,” Rampone said. “Learning how to harness big data will allow me to answer policymaker questions and ensure decisions are based on reliable information.”
Predicting lone star tick behavior
From Shawnee, Okla., Marshall was drawn to the field of medical and veterinary entomology and arthropod impact on human health after the 2016 zika virus outbreak. Part of Associate Professor Jeb Owen’s research lab, Marshall studies tick behavior—specifically, how lone star sticks move in the environment.
He wants to learn how their movement affects their chances of acquiring a human or animal host, and eventually build a predictive model of tick-host contact.
“Many people think ticks simply sit and wait for an animal to brush past them, then climb aboard,” Marshall said. “That’s true for well-studied tick species, but the lone star tick will actually hunt down hosts. In areas where there are a lot of these ticks, it’s easy to be completely overwhelmed. I’ve had thousands of ticks climbing out of the leaf litter onto me after taking a short break in my research field site.”
The lone star tick is an invertebrate of concern in the eastern United States, where it is responsible for transmitting many disease-causing pathogens.
“Much of what we know about ticks and their behavior comes from a few species of ticks whose biologies are very different from lone star ticks,” Marshall said. “What I’m doing will contribute to species-specific control strategies and risk models that could reduce the incidence of lone star tick-borne illness.”
The fellowship opens a world of opportunities. With NIFA’s support, Marshall now has dedicated funds for conference travel to network and present his research. Funds can be used to hire undergraduates to assist with research.
“That could be an excellent first step into the entomology for a student and allows me to cut my teeth as a mentor,” he said.
• Entomologists in WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences support a more resilient Washington. Learn more online about our work for a secure food supply, sustainable natural resources, an adaptable workforce, and thriving communities.
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