ROXANNE BURRUS. Lieutenant, Medical Service Corps, United States Navy. PhD candidate. In this photo, Roxanne is examining microbiological colonies for disease pathogens which can be transmitted by the house fly, Musca domestica.
Roxanne's main research objective is to determine the potential public health threat posed by diptera-vectored (common house fly, Musca domestica (L.)) transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 across the rural-urban interface (i.e., between dairy farms and towns and/or residential neighborhoods). Click here for more information.
PETE OBENAUER. Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy. PhD graduate, August 2009. Pete is investigating the performance of different traps set at various heights to capture an introduced invasive mosquito species, Aedes albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito. A daytime biter, it is considered one of the most aggressive and problematic mosquitoes to control. His research is an important step to measure their vertical distribution and may provide better insights into controlling this persistent pest. In addition, he is investigating their ovipositional (egg-laying) height preferences and attractants. Click here for more information on Pete's research, and here for Pete's CV.
JIMMY PITZER. PhD candidate. Jimmy's area of research focuses on pests of veterinary importance, and continued improvement of methods used for their control. Two areas of particular interest are resistance development of muscoid flies, and the utility of pteromalid pupal parasitoids as an alternate control method to insecticides. Investigations of these topics are becoming increasingly relevant as livestock pests such as house flies and horn flies have readily demonstrated resistance to most insecticides used against them. Insecticide resistance of muscoid flies usually causes increased pesticide application frequency. This results in greater selection pressure and losses due to insecticide costs and decreased animal production. Furthermore, as human populations increase, they tend to move towards agricultural areas. The potential for legal action from neighboring urban communities due to disease transmission or aesthetic displeasure compounds resistance issues faced by livestock producers.