Questions for Newsletter Alumni Profile
Year of graduation and degree:
December 2013: B.S. Viticulture & Enology; Minor: Agricultural Pest Management
September 2018: Ph.D., Entomology
Current job title/company:
North Coast Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Advisor/University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources (UC ANR)
What have you been up to since you graduated?
While in my last year for my Bachelor’s degree, I enrolled in the Mentorships for Undergraduate Research in Agriculture, Letters, and Science (MURALS) program. I had recently taken ENT 110 – Arthropod Pest Management as a restricted elective for my Viticulture & Enology (V&E) degree. I looked at insects under the microscope for the first time and I was fascinated. MURALS matched me with the professor teaching the ENT 110 course as a mentor, Frank Zalom, Distinguished Professor of Entomology at UC Davis. My project was to conduct research in the Contained Research Facility for the USDA on European grapevine moth.This set the groundwork for pursuing my Ph.D. in Entomology under Frank Zalom. My dissertation was on the biology and behavior of the three-cornered alfalfa hopper (TCAH) in Californian vineyards not long after it was shown to vector grapevine red blotch virus. After receiving my Ph.D., I did a 10-month Post-doc position in Parlier with the USDA under Mark Sisterson continuing my research with TCAH. I was waiting for my current position to open and when it did, I applied. I’ve been the North Coast IPM Advisor for the last 7 years.
Do you feel your UC Davis experience benefited your career?
Yes, my UC Davis experience perfectly prepared me for a career that combines two disciplines that I love, Viticulture and Entomology.
What is the most rewarding part of being in the industry/your job?
Helping the commercial grape industry while doing something that I love. I thrive in the diversity of activities that this position allows. I get to spend time in vineyards, working with insects, helping the grape industry make science-based pest management decisions. I get to talk with grape growers and find out what their needs are and in turn, conduct research that addresses these needs. The research is then published in scientific journals and the findings are then translated to reach growers in industry publications. My research findings are presented to growers at seminars, webinars and at national conferences and I develop and deliver hands-on insect identification workshops in the counties I cover and conduct field days and tailgate meetings on grape-centric topics, etc. There are always new insect pests so I am always learning. I know that I chose the right path because I receive photos of insects for ID, sent to me by Pest Control Advisors (PCAs), at 7 a.m. on a Sunday and it just makes me smile.
What are some of the most difficult challenges you have faced in the grape or wine industry?
It is hard when industry members are really struggling with an insect pest problem that is causing substantial economic damage and we have yet to find the answers to help them. I experienced this as a graduate student right at the time that TCAH was identified as a vector of grapevine red blotch virus. I went to Oakville Grape Day and presented what we knew about TCAH so far. Well, at that time,we did not know a whole lot. We had not conducted research ourselves,as the discovery of TCAHs role had just been confirmed. What we knew about this insect was based upon research done in the Southern U.S. on soybeans, alfalfa, and peanuts. We knew TCAH was an occasional pest of grapevines due to girdling petioles but we really didn’t know what it was doing in vineyards. Attendees were understandably frustrated as they were handling a disease about which there were very few answers. I gave a lot of answers such as “we don’t know yet,” and “there is no data available at this time.” I listened through the frustration though and took their questions and designed my dissertation research to answer the questions that were pressing and on the insect side of the problem. What do they feed/reproduce on, in the vineyard? What are their preferred hosts? How many generations do they have? What are their spatial dynamics? Can they reproduce on grapevines? When do they girdle petioles? Where do they overwinter?
Is there anything you would like to share with current UC Davis V&E students?
I came to Davis because I wanted to be a winemaker. While taking coursework I found myself leaning more towards Viticulture. I took a summer cellar internship in Napa and realized I was mistaken. I didn’t really want to become a winemaker. My assumption of what a winemaker did day in and day out was very different from what I experienced. Two tokens of advice: 1. I cannot stress enough the importance of an internship. Find the time and pursue the opportunity. Make it happen. 2. It’s OK if your educational path ends up taking you in a different direction than where you started. I love what I do today. I might not make wine but I do help people bring the highest quality grapes possible to the cellar.
What is one unique thing about you?
I think we are all unique in our own ways so I would have to say being me.