PhD Student       jgonsiorek@ufl.edu

Joey Gonsiorek

Joey graduated with a B.A. in Biology from Augustana College. During his time at Augustana, he assisted in research with Dr. Tierney Brosius, studying the effects of mesophication and urbanization on forest ecology and ground beetle diversity. It was here that Joey developed his own interest and passion in entomology. After graduating, he spent a few years working in several different entomology laboratories, including our own!

 

Joey has been a member of the Liburd Lab for the last 4 years, completed his master’s program with us, and is now working towards his PhD. His work involves the management of the silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci MEAM1, in organic squash. In particular, Joey’s work has focused on exploiting whitefly host-finding behavior, mixing visual and olfactory (smell/scent) cues to keep whiteflies from finding their hosts. He also looks at how these new techniques complement existing ones as part of an integrated management program for whiteflies. After graduating, Joey hopes to continue working in academia.

 

Outside of work, Joey loves to cook with his wife. Since the start of 2020, they have been working towards cooking one dish from every country in the world! They have cleared around 50 countries so far, and it has been an interesting experience! Some of their favorites have been langouste a la vanille from Comoros, shuwa from Oman, and seafood paella from Spain. Delicious!