Metamorphosis: From John Henry Comstock Award Winners to Future Leaders in Entomology

Organizer(s)

• 

  Jacqueline Maille (she/her/hers)

  Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant
  Department of Entomology
  Kansas State University
  Manhattan, Kansas
• 

  Michelle Au (she/her/hers)

  Graduate Research Assistant
  Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, CTAHR
  University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
  Honolulu, Hawaii
• AA

  Alexis Alsdorf

  North Carolina State University
  Raleigh, North Carolina
• FO

  Flinn O'Hara

  PhD Student
  University of Florida
  Gainesville, Florida
• 

  Sabita Ranabhat (she/her/hers)

  Graduate Research Assistant
  Department of Entomology
  Kansas State University
  Manhattan, Kansas

This award symposium honors six exceptional graduate students from each ESA branch, recognizing their achievements with the John Henry Comstock award. Each student will present a 15-minute overview of their academic journey and research, followed by a Q&A session. This event aims to inspire, promote networking, and encourage student membership.

Presentations:

• 8:00 AM – 8:05 AM MST

  Introductory remarks
  

  Presenting Author: Jacqueline M. Maille (she/her/hers) – Kansas State University
• 8:05 AM – 8:30 AM MST

  Bee bold: Achieve goals through leadership, involvement, and daring to try new things
  

  Presenting Author: Hailey N. Shanovich – United States Geological Survey
• 8:30 AM – 8:55 AM MST

  Improving onion thrips management: Developing machine learning-enhanced, spatially optimized sequential sampling plan
  

  Presenting Author: Lidia Komondy – Cornell University

  Co-Author: Brian Nault – Cornell University
• 8:55 AM – 9:05 AM MST

  Break
• 9:05 AM – 9:30 AM MST

  Aiming for versatility through research: The benefits of being pretty good at many things
  

  Presenting Author: James Hepler – USDA-ARS
• 9:30 AM – 9:55 AM MST

  Evolving journey: Tracing the evolution of freshwater insects and shaping my path in entomology
  

  Presenting Author: Alice C. Assmar (she/her/hers) – McGill University
• 9:55 AM – 10:05 AM MST

  Break
• 10:05 AM – 10:30 AM MST

  Transcriptomic analysis of honey bee (Apis mellifera) premature hive exiting behavior
  

  Presenting Author: Jordan Twombly-Ellis – Texas A&M University

  Co-author: Juliana Rangel – Texas A&M University
• 10:30 AM – 10:55 AM MST

  Diversity of experience: How I won the John Henry Comstock Award
  

  Presenting Author: Ethan Doherty – Clemson University
• 10:55 AM – 11:00 AM MST

  Closing remarks
  

  Presenting Author: Jacqueline M. Maille (she/her/hers) – Kansas State University