Lab Members
- Kevin Orta – PhD student
- Laissa Cavallini – PhD student (coadvised with Dr. Anders Huseth)
Laissa received her BS degree in Biological Sciences at Sao Paulo State University (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and my MS degree in Entomology at Montana State University (Montana, USA). Her current research project is part of an ongoing IPM program for tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). It focuses on the use of genetically engineered cotton in controlling damaging F. fusca populations, in addition to better understanding insecticide resistance mechanisms and efficacy against F. fusca. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, camping, paddleboarding, and binge-watching TV shows with friends.
- Taynara Possebom – PhD student
Taynara finished her MS in our program, with a project focused on Helicoverpa zea in soybeans. She has just started her PhD work, with a project testing various traps for stink bugs in soybeans. One of the traps is an exciting new design from FMC using AI to detect stink bugs.
- Alexis Alsdorf- MS student
Alexis works with Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm/bollworm) in corn, cotton, and soybeans. She is observing yield differences between similar Bt/non-Bt hybrids in corn throughout the state of North Carolina to help convince growers to plant refuge corn. In cotton and soybeans, she is investigating how different tillage practices influence the survival of bollworm pupae.
- Igor Schardong – MS Student
Igor has a background in agronomy and originally came to the Reisig program as an intern during 2022. He collaborated in research projects involving Helicoverpa zea behavior in soybeans and damage in corn. He also worked on his own research, investigating the behavior of H. zea in different soil types. His MS research focuses on defoliation thresholds in soybeans in a double cropped system. He can be contacted by e-mail isulzba”at”ncsu.edu
- Ândrea Caprini Sagiorato– Undergraduate intern
Ândrea has a degree in Agronomy from the University of Passo Fundo (Brazil). She worked with soybean, wheat, corn and canola, providing technical assistance to growers at a Brazilian agriculture cooperative. In 2023 she went to Italy to be granted her citizenship and did a voluntary internship at San Giusto Farm, working in an apple orchard. She has joined the team as an intern and, in addition to collaborating on several projects, she will be conducting research on Helicoverpa zea in soybean using olfactometer techniques.
- Clifton Moore- Research Specialist
I started working with NCSU in 2013 as a research technician. I am responsible for conducting different field experiments across many different areas of the state.
- Steven Roberson- Research Assistant
I am a NCSU graduate with a B.S. in Agricultural and Environmental Technology. I started my career with NCSU Entomology in 2010. I am responsible for conducting field experiments studying the ever-changing entomological issues with North Carolina’s field crops.
- Emily Goldsworthy- Research Assistant
As a Research Assistant in the Reisig lab I maintain corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) colonies to be used for field, greenhouse, or laboratory research throughout the year. During the warmer months I use pheromone traps, light traps, and sampling of fields to track the movement of many different insects moving through the northeastern part of NC. These insects can then be brought back to the lab for further testing to determine resistance to the Bt proteins used in field crops.
- Dominic Reisig- Principle Investigator
Lab Alumni
Past master’s and doctoral students
- Daniela Pezzini, 2019-2022, Ph.D. Entomology, employed at Bayer Crop Science
- DeShae Dillard, 2019-2022, M.S. Entomology, Ph.D. student at Michigan State University
- Hayden Schug, 2019-2021, M.S. Entomology, Agriculture & Food Systems Extension Educator at University of Maryland Extension
- Ben Arends, 2018-2020, M.S. Entomology, JABB of the Carolinas
- Lewis Braswell, 2015-2018, Ph.D. Entomology, employed at Syngenta
- Arun Babu, 2014-2018, Ph.D. Entomology, NC State University, postdoc at University of Georgia
- Shawnee Gundry, 2016-2018, M.S. Entomology, NC State University
- Forrest Howell, 2014-2016, M.S. Entomology, North Carolina farmer
- Brad Fritz, 2013-2015, M.S. Entomology, employed at Certis USA
- Alejandro Del Pozo-Valdivia, 2012-2016, Ph.D. Entomology, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Virginia Tech
- Rachel Suits, Summer 2011-2013, M.S. Entomology, Oregon State University Extension Service
Post-doctoral scientists directed
- Arun Babu, 2019-2020, NC State University, postdoc at University of Georgia
- Mohammad-Amir Aghaee, 2015-2018, employed at Bayer Crop Science
- Alejandro Del Pozo-Valdivia, 2016-2018, Ph.D. Entomology, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Virginia Tech
- Sriyanka Lahiri, 2015-2017, Assistant Professor of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida
International visiting scientists
- Jerson Guedes, 2023-2024, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil
- Carolina Gonçalves, 2023-2024, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil
- Ligiany Reginato Oliveria, 2023, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul – Campus Sertão, Brazil
- Igor Schardong, 2022-2023, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil
- Maiquel Pizzuti, 2018, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil
- Guoping Li, 2014, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
- Jin Miao, 2014, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China
Positions
We welcome applications to our lab depending on interest and funding. Please send an e-mail to Dominic!