Doctor of Philosophy in Entomology - Genetics and Genomics and Medical Entomology

The Department of Entomology offers Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees. Graduate students may conduct research in a range of both basic and applied topics, including insect ecology and behavior, physiology, morphology, evolution and biosystematics, insect pathology, molecular biology and genetics, aquatic entomology, pollinator biology and apiculture, and integrated pest management. Much of the early work in fields like genetics, neurobiology, endocrinology, gene expression, sex determination, and translational control was conducted using insects. Today, insects continue to serve as important models for developmental biology, physiology, neural and molecular correlates of behavior, vector biology, and evolutionary biology. The completion of the Drosophila genome and other insect genetic tools has maintained the place of insects at the forefront of research on the structure, function, mapping, organization, expression, and evolution of genomes. Several Entomology Department faculty use insects to answer basic scientific questions ranging from the function of individual genes and gene networks to the genome-wide effect of genetically modified crops on agricultural pests. While many of these studies use Drosophila melanogaster and several species of mosquitoes as model systems, othes include Lepidoptera, the Colorado potato beetle and other beetles, brown marmorated stink bug, milkweed beetles.