Amanda Hodges, Ph.D.
Lab Director
Director, Doctor of Plant Medicine program
achodges@ufl.edu
Dr. Amanda Hodges serves as the Director of the interdisciplinary Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) program http://dpm.ifas.ufl.edu/. As the DPM Director, Dr. Hodges is the primary faculty point-of-contact for prospective students, coordinates the DPM faculty advisory committee, coordinates public relations components, interfaces with external stakeholders, provides instruction for some DPM-specific courses, reviews all program of study documents, prepares annual reports, authors a DPM blog, supervises and edits the DPM Newsletter (DPM News), supervises the DPM Program Assistant, and completes other administrative tasks as issues arise. Dr. Amanda Hodges is also the leader for the University of Florida, Biosecurity Research and Extension Laboratory. Her research and extension interests focus on invasive arthropod species of potential concern to Florida’s landscape, natural areas, and agriculture. Invasive Hemipteran pests of potential concern are the focal model organisms of interest, and consequently, research related to the diagnostics and pest management of similar species in Florida’s agricultural and natural areas may also occur. The research and extension activities of Dr. Hodges are supported primarily through external grants and contracts. Currently, Dr. Hodges only accepts graduate students enrolled or co-enrolled in the DPM Program in her laboratory.
EXTENSION
Dr. Amanda Hodges has authored or co-authored over 100 extension publications related to arthropod diagnostics and invasive species. During the 2012 meeting of the Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, Dr. Hodges was presented with the Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension. Specifically, Dr. Hodges is known for delivering innovative, hands-on plant pest diagnostic workshops in Florida, the southern region of the U.S., and the Caribbean. Dr. Hodges also provided initial key leadership for the launch of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) online First Detector training program (https://firstdetector.org/) and the Protect U.S., Community Invasive Species Network Program (http://protectingusnow.org/). During the 2011 meeting of the NPDN, Dr. Hodges was recognized as one of the team members involved in establishing the NPDN Partner Program, the Sentinel Plant Network (https://www.publicgardens.org/professional-development/sentinel-plant-network-workshops). Dr. Hodges currently coordinates the Florida First Detector project (http://www.flfirstdetector.org/), the Protect U.S. Program, and taxonomic training in support of the University of Florida, SPDN regional center mission (https://www.youtube.com/user/npdnchannel/). Dr. Hodges' projects often encompass interdisciplinary teams and multiple institutions.
TEACHING
• Integrated Plant Medicine, ALS 6925
• Principles of Plant Pest Risk Assessment and Management and Challenges in Plant Resource Protection, ALS 6942 and ALS 4163
• Colloquium of Plant Pests of Regulatory Significance, ALS 6921
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS (TOTAL VALUE OF PROJECTS: ~$9.8 MILLION)
• Principal Investigator-Value: $3.8 Million
• Co-Principal Investigator-Value: $6.0 Million