I am a second-year master’s student in Dr. Gonthier’s lab at the University of Kentucky. I am majoring in entomology with a focus on integrating pest exclusion systems into sustainable agriculture. I hold a BS in horticulture, plant, and soil science from the University of Kentucky. I have spent the last three years doing research within entomology labs and have also spent time as a horticultural extension intern and as an intern at an arboretum.
My research has focused on two projects where we are using fine mesh nets to exclude herbivorous insect pests. Within the first of these projects, I am using mesh nets as well as several other treatments to control flea beetle populations in eggplant and cruciferous leafy greens. In the second project, I am looking at strategies to improve cucurbit pollination under mesotunnels while continuing to exclude pest species.