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Insect Pathology/ Biotechnology Lab

Insect Pathology/ Biotechnology Lab

Alumni Lab Members


CURRENT LAB MEMBERS

Picture of Bryony Bonning

 

Dr. Bryony C. Bonning is an eminent scholar and professor of entomology and nematology at the University of Florida, and Director of the Center for Arthropod Management Technologies (CAMTech), a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. Dr. Bonning held postdoctoral appointments at the Natural Environment Research Council Institute of Virology in Oxford, UK and at the University of California, Davis, USA. She then joined the faculty at Iowa State University, and moved to University of Florida in 2017. Bonning oversees cutting edge research on insect physiology and insect pathology with the goal of developing novel, environmentally benign alternatives to chemical insecticides for insect pest management.

 


Grace Crummer

Research Coordinator

(352)294-6791
gracec@ufl.edu
CAMTech website

Grace Crummer joined Dr. Bonning's group as Coordinator of the CAMTech IUCRC in October 2018. She has a background in stable isotope ecology, ecosystem ecology, plant physiological ecology, and large interdisciplinary program management. She holds an MS in Botany from UF and a BA in Environmental Science & Policy from Duke.

 


Portrait of Saptarshi Ghosh

Saptarshi Ghosh

Postdoctoral Research Associate

(352) 273-3972
s.ghosh1@ufl.edu
Google Scholar

Dr. Ghosh joined the lab in November 2022 following postdoctoral work at the Agricultural Research Organisation Volcani Center in Bet Dagan, Israel and the University of Georgia. He holds a B.S. in Agriculture from the Orissa Institute of Agriculture and Technology, an M.S. in Plant Pathology from the Bangalore University of Agricultural Sciences and a PhD from the University of Greenwich Natural Resources Institute. He has deep expertise in viruses vectored by insects, with a special interest in whiteflies.

 


Portrait of Morgana de Souza Miranda

Morgana de Souza Miranda

Graduate Student

mdesouzamiranda@ufl.edu
LinkedIn

Morgana S. Miranda joined the Bonning lab in January 2024 as a MSc student. Her work focuses on the use of bacterial pesticidal proteins as alternative strategy for management of Asian citrus psyllid, the vector of citrus greening bacteria in the US. Morgana holds a BS in Agronomy from the Federal University of Vicosa in Brazil, where her research focused on insect resistance to chemical pesticides and bacterial pesticidal proteins.

 


 

Photo of Ruchir Mishra

Ruchir Mishra

Biological Scientist III

(352)273-3973
mishraruchir@ufl.edu
LinkedIn
Google Scholar
Github

Ruchir Mishra has 8 years of experience in the Bacillus thuringiensis field. He is currently working on engineering Bt Cry toxin to enhance its toxicity against lepidopteran insects. His areas of expertise include molecular biology, proteomics, transcriptomics and bioinformatics. He holds a PhD in Entomology, an MPhil in Biochemistry, and an MS in Molecular Cell Biology. 


Close-up of Clebson dos Santos Tavares

Clebson dos Santos Tavares

Postdoctoral Research Associate

clebsondossantos@ufl.edu
LinkedIn
Google scholar page

Clebson S. Tavares joined the Bonning lab in 2019 and graduated in 2023 with a PhD in entomology based on his work on the "Midgut surface proteome of Diaphorina citri and toxicity of gut-targeting insecticidal proteins for use in citrus greening management." His previous research focused on insect resistance to transgenic crops expressing Bt toxins. He holds a MS in Entomology and a BS in Agronomy from the Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil. He is continuing in the lab as a postdoctoral fellow to work on Asian citrus psyllid - Liberibacter asiaticus molecular interactions.


Portrait of Emily Vu

Emily Vu

Graduate Student

evu@ufl.edu
LinkedIn

Emily joined the Bonning lab as an undergraduate while completing her BS in biochemistry at UF. During this time, she worked on bioassays of Bt toxins on lepidopterans. She now works in the lab as a graduate student in the Genetics and Genomics PhD program. She works on characterizing the virome of the small hive beetle, studying virus replication in the small hive beetle, and has experience in virus sequence discovery.


Photo of Na Xie

Na Xie

Postdoctoral Research Associate

nxie@ufl.edu

Google Scholar

Dr. Na Xie received her PhD in Molecular Toxicology and Physiology from the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech. Her dissertation focused on explaining the multiple resistance associated with the Rdl mutation on the GABAA receptors and investigated the toxicology of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) in Drosophila melanogaster. She joined the lab in June 2022 to work on Asian citrus psyllids (ACP), with the goal of mitigating the impact of citrus greening. She is excited to broaden her molecular research and insect pest research skills as part of the Bonning Lab.

 


Portrait of Ke Wu

Ke Wu

Biological Scientist IV, Lab Manager

(352) 273-3946
kewu@ufl.edu
ResearchGate

Dr. Ke Wu joined the Bonning lab in August 2021 as lab manager. Ke has nearly 3 decades of molecular biology research experience in subjects including plants, viruses, rodents, and insects. Ke oversees the daily operation of Dr. Bonning’s lab. Dr. Wu's current research focuses on two areas: 1) developing cell culture systems in which replication of Asian citrus psyllid viruses can be studied; 2) Identifying and investigating the functional roles of the cellular components involved in regulating viral replication using reverse genetics techniques, such as those based on CRISPR/Cas9.