Lab Alumni
Alumni from our lab group are engaged in a wide range of career paths. Summer students and temporary technicians have taken jobs after graduation including ski patrol, lab manager, medical student, graduate student, veterinary student, conservation coordinator, and world traveler. Former students and postdocs are working across North America, in Europe, and in South America and they include faculty at universities working in positions focused on research, extension, teaching, or some combination. It’s always exciting to hear from our alumni, so if you are reading this page, please let us know where you are now!
This list below shows a selection of lab alumni and their current jobs, demonstrating the types of career opportunities open to people with training from our lab and the Department of Entomology at MSU. Studying this subject along with your experiences working in a lab, farm, or classroom setting can take you far!
Jackie Perkins. Academic Specialist (Tree Fruit Integrator), Department of Entomology, MSU
Maxime Eeraerts. Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Belgium
Kelsey Graham. Research Entomologist (pollinating insects), USDA ARS, Utah
Ashley Bennett. Project Manager, Electric Power Research Institute, Tennessee
Brett Blaauw. Fruit Entomology faculty, University of Georgia.
Julia Brokaw. Ph.D from University of Minnesota. Now at Xerces Society.
Phillip Fanning. Associate Professor of Agricultural Entomology, University of Maine
Knute Gundersen. Contract Data Scientist, North Carolina
Paul Jenkins. Keller Williams Realty, Lansing.
Ashley Leach. Specialty Crops Entomology faculty, The Ohio State University.
Heather Leach. Tree Fruit Research Technician, Michigan State University.
Nikhil Mallampalli. Entomologist, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Keith Mason. Enviroweather Program Coordinator, Department of Geography, MSU
Emily May. Pollinator Conservation Specialist, The Xerces Society, Connecticut
Rodrigo Mercader. Professor of Biology, Washburn University.
Matt O’Neal. Professor of Soybean Entomology, Iowa State University.
Mario Pinilla. Ph.D Student (bee-virus ecology), North Carolina State University.
Gabriela Quinlan. Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Penn State University.
Logan Rowe. Conservation Associate, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, MSU
Julianna Wilson. Assistant Professor of Tree Fruit Entomology, Michigan State University.
Thomas Wood. Naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Zsofia Szendrei. Professor of Vegetable Entomology, Michigan State University.