December 2022 Spotlight
Dante Centuori: First Year PhD Student in Columbus
About: I’m from Cleveland Ohio, and did my undergrad there as well at Cleveland State University. At OSU I'm a part of Dr. Strange’s lab as a 1st year PhD student.
Research: What I'll be doing for my research is still coming together, but the main focus will be on urban native bees. I’ll likely be studying how their health is affected by urbanization and the availability, or lack thereof, of floral resources.
Get to know!
Favorite breakfast?
My favorite breakfast is a bit of a sentimental pick. In my senior year at CSU I had the same thing every morning at the cafeteria; scrambled eggs with ketchup and sriracha sauce, a scoop of potatoes, two biscuits with their gravy and a cup of coffee. This was when I was at my busiest, the combo of schoolwork, grad school applications, and work on my honors thesis really kept me busy so breakfast was one of the few times I could really sit down and relax.
What travel destination has been your favorite?
In 2019 Iceland air was running cheap flights out of Cleveland so my family jumped on the opportunity and took a trip to iceland. It was just in the nick of time too, because the airline stopped servicing Cleveland right after this. It was a really great place for people who like nature, as the environment’s just so different from what we have in the states. Quiet too, I think I've lived under an airport flight path and near a highway pretty much my whole life, so being in a place where you couldn't hear planes, cars, or people was amazing.
What intrigues you most about writing?
Saying my favorite thing about writing is when it’s over is a bit on the nose, but there’s some truth to it. I’ve always enjoyed the final stages of writing when you put it all together into the finished product.
Iliana Moore: Third Year Master’s Student in Columbus
About: I'm a third-year Master's student in Dr. Jamie Strange's lab in the Department of Entomology. I grew up a small town in California, but completed my BA in Biology at New College of Florida before moving to Ohio for graduate school. I plan to complete my thesis and graduate in May 2023.
Research: In the Strange Lab, we focus on bumble bee conservation and on health factors in bumble bees such as genetics, pathology and venom composition. For my Master's project, I am examining how urbanization—specifically the construction of “impervious surfaces” like buildings, roads and concrete on a landscape scale—impacts gene flow and genetic diversity in bumble bee populations.
Get to know!
How do you stay motivated?
When the research/writing grind is wearing me down, and I start to wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing, I try to do things that remind me why I love my field in the first place. These usually include going for walks to watch the insect life around me, looking back on the research that inspired mine, volunteering at outreach events for the Bugmobile or Bug Zoo, and even just spending time with the other students in the department talking about our work. In different ways, these activities help remind me why I care so much about the insect world, and why it's important to me to contribute to the field of entomology and to increase public knowledge about insects.
What is one thing you will never do again?
When I first started grad school, I did not take scheduled time off very seriously—I worked at least part of the day for every day of the week, and didn't have a set cutoff time to stop working in the evenings. I thought if I just took breaks when I felt able to it would work out fine; however, doing this made me very prone to overworking myself, burning out and sometimes missing out on things. Nowadays I give myself one mandatory day off per week, and stop work at a certain time in the evening whenever possible. It's made me burn out much less frequently and helped keep me motivated and productive throughout my working days, and I intend to carry this philosophy into my future working life. So in short, I'll never again ignore the need for regular, consistent time off to rest and rejuvenate from work.
Frederico Hickmann: Visiting Scholar in Wooster
About: I'm Frederico Hickmann (Fred), graduated in Agronomic Engineering and Master in Entomology. I am in my 4th year of PhD in the Graduate Program in Entomology at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ) at the University of São Paulo (you can find more about the program here). I am currently a visiting scholar at Ohio State University under the supervision of Andy Michel developing part of my PhD project.
My advisor in Brazil is Dr. Alberto Soares Corrêa. He is a professor of entomology at the University of Sao Paulo and his research goals are to understand historical and contemporary dispersal, population genomics, insecticide resistance, and intra- and inter-specific relationships of pests and natural enemies using population genetics, genomics, adaptation, and ecological interactions applied to insects of agricultural importance.
Research: My research topics are true insects, popularly known as stink bugs. My project is focused on the genus Euschistus, which are important agricultural pests in the USA and Brazil. My specific goals are to expand our knowledge about the molecular characteristics of diapause (an overwintering strategy) of these pests using tools such as transcriptomics and gene silencing.
Get to know!
Most unusual thing you’ve eaten?
The most unusual thing I had was bear meat.If you were to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be?
A dog. I think I am supportive, optimistic, friendly and insightful like most dogs.
What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received?
Once after a week of hard work and ending up with no results, I was very disappointed. A co-worker/friend told me this: "Failure is an essential and inescapable part of scientific research." Resilience and persistence are important characteristics in your career.