Amy Vu 
State Specialized Extension Agent II, Apiculture
amy.vu@ufl.edu

Amy Vu is the UF/IFAS State Specialized Extension Agent II for the Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab, where she oversees the lab’s honey bee Extension activities. She runs the University of Florida Master Beekeeper Program, the University of Florida Bee Colleges, UF/IFAS Honey Bee Blog, speaker requests, media inquiries, the lab's social media pages, and is the co-host of the lab’s podcast “Two Bees in a Podcast”. Vu's Extension programming focuses on 1) improving the apiculture industry through honey bee health and beekeeping entrepreneurship education and 2) building competencies of apiculture instructors through honey bee education. Amy has an undergraduate degree in Agronomy with an emphasis on Soils and Environmental Science from Kansas State University and a master's degree in Agricultural Leadership and Community Education from Virginia Tech. Before joining the HBREL, she was Orange County Extension's urban horticulture agent and Master Gardener coordinator. Amy started keeping bees in 2013 in Blacksburg, Virginia, where her passion for honey bees began.

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Chris Oster
Lab Manager
osterc96@ufl.edu 

Chris Oster is the Lab Manager for the Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. In this position he oversees all of the day-to-day operations that help to keep the lab running including procuring materials to be used in research, coordinating between HBREL and outside vendors, coordinating volunteers, and maintaining lab equipment. Oster graduated from the University of Florida with a degree on Environmental Science, where he was introduced to honey bees through volunteering at the HBREL. 

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Devan Rawn
Lead Field Technician
Devan.Rawn@ufl.edu 

Devan Rawn joined the HBREL in 2022 and now serves as lead field technician. His work focuses on research in honey bee nutrition, control of Varroa, and queen rearing. Devan comes from Ontario, Canada, where he received a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Guelph. He was previously a technician with the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association Technology Transfer Program, a commercial beekeeper producing queens and honey, and has taught at Niagara College Canada’s commercial beekeeping program. Understanding honey bees in a warmer climate is a challenge Devan has fully embraced.

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Kaylin Kleckner
Graduate Student
kaylin.kleckner@ufl.edu 

Kleckner is a PhD candidate studying unmanaged honey bee ecology at the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. Kleckner conducted field work in South Africa to locate and study unmanaged honey bee colonies. She is interested in unmanaged colony nesting strategies, behavior, and relatedness. She joined the HBREL in 2018 while completing her B.S. in Entomology and Nematology. Before her PhD, Kleckner was a lab volunteer, student researcher, and field technician participating in myriad research projects in honey bee toxicology, nutrition, and behavior.

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Louise Petit
Graduate Student
louise.petit@ufl.edu

Louise Petit is a PhD student at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory. Introduced to HBREL as a visiting scholar during her master's in Bioengineering degree in France, she is interested in honey bee toxicology research. Her graduate project focus is on Varroa destructor control.

 

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Alexis Masnjak
Graduate Student
AMasnjak@ufl.edu

Alexis Masnjak is a PhD student at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. Her research focuses on Ascosphaera apis, the fungal pathogen responsible for chalkbrood, a disease that affects honey bee colonies. Alexis has a background in microbiology and molecular biology. Prior to joining HBREL, she earned an MS in Biology from the University of South Florida, where her research centered on behavior and gene expression in Hymenoptera.

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Julia St. Amant
Graduate Student
Jstamant1@ufl.edu

Julia St. Amant is a PhD student at the Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory. Introduced to HBREL as a volunteer, she then became the lab technician conducting honey bee research on control for Varroa destructor and other pests and pathogens. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Master of Science in Entomology and Nematology. Her research focuses on honey bee pathogens and their impact on honey bee health.

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Marie Yanchak
Graduate Student
marie.yanchak@ufl.edu

Marie Yanchak is a master's student at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. Marie has a background in commercial beekeeping and joined HBREL in 2024 after completing a B.S. in both Entomology and Agricultural Leadership & Development at Texas A&M University. Marie’s graduate research with Dr. Cameron Jack focuses on optimizing current methods of oxalic acid application for the control of Varroa destructor.

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Dr. Kaitlin R. Deutsch
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
KRDeutsch@ufl.edu

Dr. Kaitlin Deutsch is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. She is currently investigating the utility of environmental DNA (eDNA) and RNA (eRNA) in detecting emerging honey bee pests and pathogens.  Prior to joining HBREL, Kaitlin completed her PhD in Entomology at Cornell University, where she studied how sustainable beekeeping practices impact virus sharing between managed honey bees and wild pollinators. She first became interested in pollinator disease ecology during her time as an undergraduate at the University of South Florida, before going on to investigate viruses in hover fly pollinators as part of her MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management at the University of Oxford.

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Jeffrey Carmichael
Multimedia Specialist
j.carmichael@ufl.edu

Jeffrey Carmichael is the Multimedia Specialist for the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. He first joined the lab as the Podcast Coordinator for "Two Bees in a Podcast" in 2025 but has since expanded his role and now additionally manages the lab's social media, website, online courses, and graphics. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Florida in 2025 with an undergraduate degree in Psychology but plans to continue to work in media management with an emphasis on audio production and sound design.

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Makenleigh Bledsoe
Program Coordinator
MakenleigBledsoe@ufl.edu

Makenleigh Bledsoe is the Program Coordinator for the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. She supports the lab’s Extension mission by coordinating outreach efforts and assisting with day to day operations. She is primarily responsible for planning the UF/IFAS Bee College and handles all program logistics from communicating with speakers and participants to creating the event schedule and program materials.

Makenleigh also serves as a primary point of contact for the lab. She answers phone calls and responds to emails from our stakeholders, and connects them with UF/IFAS resources and research based information. Her passion for apiculture began early. At the age of 15, she started her own beekeeping business and brings that dedication to her efforts every single day.

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Pierce Barron
Graduate Student
barron.pierce@ufl.edu

Pierce Barron is a master's student at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory. While completing his B.S. in Entomology and Nematology, he began working with honey bees as a volunteer at HBREL and later became a field technician. He has worked on projects involving honey bee behavior, nutrition, and pest control. Pierce's graduate research focuses on emerging control methods for Varroa destructor.

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Ilaria Cardaio
Graduate Student
ilaria.cardaio@ufl.edu

Ilaria Cardaio is a PhD student at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory. She is interested in honey bee toxicology and her current research focuses on pesticides effects on honey bees. She first joined HBREL in 2017 as an exchange visitor, evaluating the effectiveness of mechanical traps for Aethina tumida (small hive beetle) monitoring. She also served as president of a regional beekeeping association in Italy and teaches honey bee pathology courses for beekeeping associations. She worked as a laboratory technician at a government research institute in Italy, gaining extensive experience in honey bee toxicology, pathology, pests, and behavior. She gained a background in terrestrial ecotoxicology at a GLP test facility for environmental risk assessment of agrochemicals and biocides, where she later became a Study Director conducting acute oral and contact toxicity tests on honey bees and bumblebees.

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honeybee@ifas.ufl.edu