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People
The CCE is made up of faculty, postdoctoral associates, and students from seven departments in two colleges: College of Agricultural Sciences and Eberly College of Science. For an alphabetical list of CCE faculty, postdocs, and students, click on the links below.
Tom Baker
Dept of Entomology
105 Chemical Ecology Lab
Phone: 814-863-4435
Email: tcb10@psu.edu
Web Site
Insect-to-insect or plant-to-insect chemical communication via olfaction, neuroethology, heliothine moth sex pheromone and host plant volatile mixture interactions, development of an insect antenna-based olfactory biosensor, discovery and development of novel insect attractants, traps and mating disruption dispensers, and evolution of sex pheromone blends.
Dept of Entomology
117 Chemical Ecology Lab
Phone: 814-863-1791
Email: kub13@psu.edu
Web Site
Insect-plant interactions, attraction to host volatiles, compounds involved in mate finding, insect olfaction, chemistry of the insect culticle.
John Carlson
School of Forest Resources
402 Life Sciences Bldg.
Phone: 814-863-7561
Email: jec16@psu.edu
Web Site
Structural and functional genomics of trees and the intersection between genomics and tree chemistry, genetic linkage mapping and molecular cytogenetics, genetics of tree growth, pest resistance, and wood quality, development of environmentally friendly resistance to insect pests and other stresses, molecular basis of lignin synthesis and the response of trees to environmental pollutants.
Surinder Chopra
Dept of Crop and Soil Sciences
116 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-865-1159
Email: sic3@psu.edu
Web Site
Genetics of secondary metabolites in maize and sorghum, molecular biology and role of secondary metabolites in plant developmental process and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, phlobophenes, 3-deoxyanthocyanidins.
Diana Cox-Foster
Dept of Entomology
501 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-865-1022
Email: dxc12@psu.edu
Web Site
Interactions between insects and their pathogens and parasites, elicitation and regulation of the insect immune system, enzyme interactions and gene expression in epidermis and immune responses, receptor/ligand reactions in pathogen recognition, cell--cell interactions and signaling pathways underlying immune response activation, suppression of host immune responses by parasitic microbes and arthropods.
Consuelo De Moraes
Dept of Entomology
501 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-863-2867
Email: czd10@psu.edu
Web Site
Chemically mediated ecological interactions among plants, herbivores, and parasitoids, production and release of volatile compounds that mediate communication among plants and between plants and the natural enemies of insect herbivores, impacts of chemical communication on community structure and dynamics, volatile signaling between parasitic plants and their hosts.
Dept of Entomology
104 Chemical Ecology Lab
Phone: 814-863-8311
Email: mjd29@psu.edu
Web Site
Olfactory-mediated reproductive character displacement, corn borer moth olfactory receptor neuron response, mechanisms for sudden evolutionary pheromone shifts, olfactory neuroethology of moths, quantitative genetics of pheromone production and response, olfactory pathways leading to behavioral antagonism.
Gary Felton
Dept of Entomology
501 ASI Bdg.
Phone: 814-863-7789
Email: gwf10@psu.edu
Web Site
Physiological, biochemical and molecular aspects of insect--plant interactions, impact of insect saliva (primarily glucose oxidase) on plant responses and acclimation to abiotic stresses, role of foliar phenolics in improving insect performance by stimulating feeding and/or by providing antioxidant benefits.
Jim Frazier
Dept of Entomology
501 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-863-7345
Email: jff2@psu.edu
Web Site
Structure and function of insect chemosensory systems, impact of sensory systems on chemically mediated behavior (especially feeding behavior of caterpillars), roles of key stimuli during the early phases of induced plant defenses, mechanisms of transduction in chemosensory cells, design of antifeedant chemicals, and development of new detectors.
Chris Frost
School of Forestry & Dept of Entomology
16 Chemical Ecology Lab
Phone: 814-863-3390
Email: cjf15@psu.edu
Web Site
Plant carbon allocation, plant responses to environmental stresses, functional genomics of plant "defense" against herbivores, molecular biology of trees, chemical signaling cues influcencing ecological interactions, linkages among plants, herbivores, soil organisms and ecosystem function, functional importance of plant diversity on ecosystem processes, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration.
David Geiser
Dept of Plant Pathology
204 Buckhout Lab
Phone: 814-865-9773
Email: dmg17@psu.edu
Web Site
Molecular evolutionary genetics of fungi, molecular phylogenetics and systematics, identities and roles of fungal culprits in plant and animal diseases and toxicoses, curation of the world's largest collection of Fusarium cultures.
Dept of Entomology
501 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-863-6369
Email: kxh25@psu.edu
Web Site
Tritrophic interactions; impact of phytochemicals and insect host antiviral defenses on pathogenesis of baculoviruses; role of baculovirus genes as virulence factors; gut symbionts and lignocellulose digestion in the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB); behavior elicited by ALB-produced pheromones.
Seogchan Kang
Dept of Plant Pathology
311 Buckhout Lab
Phone: 814-863-3846
Email: sxk55@psu.edu
Web Site
Molecular, cellular, and evolutionary mechanisms underpinning plant-fungal pathogen interactions in rice and Arabidopsis thaliana, development of a cyber-infrastructure (Fungal Plant Pathogen Database) integrating research and survey activities on fungal plant pathogens to support the identification, detection, tracking, and risk assessment of major plant pathogens.
Roger Koide
Dept of Horticulture
102 Tyson
Phone: 814-863-0710
Email: rxk13@psu.edu
Web Site
Mycorrhizal symbioses and their influence on processes that affect plant fitness, including decomposition, nutrient mobilization and nutrient uptake, signaling between mycorrhizal fungi and host plants, mycorrhizal fungal community structure,influence of mycorrhizal fungi on plant communities.
Gretchen Kuldau
Dept of Plant Pathology
205 Buckhout Lab
Phone: 814-863-7232
Email: gak10@psu.edu
Web Site
Roles of fungal secondary metabolites in fungus--plant and fungus--microbe interactions, functions of mycotoxins, microbial ecology of silages, secondary metabolites of Fusarium.
Dawn Luthe
Dept of Crop & Soil Sciences
216 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-863-3542
Email: dsl14@psu.edu
Web Site
How plants respond to environmental stresses at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels; how corn defends itself against herbivory by caterpillars and the aflatoxin-producing fungus Aspergillus flavus.
Jim Marden
Dept of Biology
208 Mueller Lab
Phone: 814-863-1384
Email: jhm10@psu.edu
Web Site
Ecological and evolutionary animal physiology, evolution of aerial locomotion in insects, population- and ecosystem-level influences on insect success and life history evolution, impact of food quality and quantity on dragonfly parasite loads, metapopulation dynamics of butterflies.
Mark Mescher
Dept of Entomology
539 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-865-4208
Email: mcm19@psu.edu
Web Site
Evolution, social behavior, multilevel selection, cultural evolution, volatile mediation of interactions among plants, herbivores, and parasitoids.
Chris Mullin
Dept of Entomology
501 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-865-2435
Email: oy9@psu.edu
Web Site
Molecular mechanisms underlying differences in susceptibilities of insect species to the effects of synthetic or natural poisons, amino acid receptors as models for selective taste and insecticide action, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and epoxide hydrolases as model detoxification enzymes degrading sensory chemicals at nerve receptor sites, peptide and protein taste receptors in beetles, development of novel biopesticides.
Andy Myrick
Dept of Entomology
121 Chemical Ecology Lab
Phone: 814-863-3877
Email: ajm25@psu.edu
Web Site
Hardware and software implementation for odor recognition and physical location estimation insect antennae as sensors in an electronic nose configuration, ultrasonic anemometric and GPS measurements in conjunction with the insect antennae to estimate the physical location of an odor source.
Andrew Read
Dept of Entomology
511 ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-865-3048
Email: a.read@psu.edu
Web Site
Ecology and evolutionary genetics of infectious diseases, virulence, interactions between pathogens, phylodynamics and evolution of immunity, control strategies
Irmgard Seidl-Adams
Dept of Entomology
117 Chemical Ecology Lab
Phone: 814-863-1791
Email: ihs103@psu.edu
Web Site
Molecular analysis of plant–insect and plant–pathogen interactions,
elicitation and regulation of "defense" signaling in plants; role
of plant hormones, in particular auxin, during pathogen infection.
Dept of Biology
315 Mueller Lab
Phone: 814-863-4705
Email: as4@psu.edu
Web Site
Interrelationships among inbreeding, herbivore and disease in plants; effects of inbreeding on plant volatile production and insect attraction to plants; changes in volatile production with herbivory and pathogen infection; responses of insect vectors to pathogen infected plants.
Ming Tien
Dept of Biochemistry
408 Althouse Laboratory
Phone: 814-863-1165
Email: mxt3@psu.edu
Web Site
Fungal lignin biodegradation, role of wood substrate in enzyme production and succession of enzymes involved in degradation of wood, protemics, trypsin fingerprinting using MALDI/TOF mass spectroscopy, role of methionine sulfoxide reductases in protection of plants from oxidative stress.
John Tooker
Dept of Entomology
ASI Bldg.
Phone: 814-863-3380
Email: tooker@psu.edu
Web Site
Plant–insect interactions, tritrophic interactions, host–plant volatile emissions, plant defenses, phytohormones dynamics, conservation biological control, gall-inducing insects
Dept of Entomology
111 Chemical Ecology Lab
Phone: 814-863-1770
Email: jht2@psu.edu
Web Site
Insect pheromones and other semiochemicals, biochemistry of signal production and release in plants and insects, behavioral responses of insects to chemical cues, interactions among herbivorous insects, their host plants, and their natural enemies, biochemistry of insect saliva and regurgitant, environmentally safe pest management.
Yinong Yang
Dept of Plant Pathology
405C Life Sciences Bldg
Phone: 814-867-0324
Email: yuy3@psu.edu
Web Site
Complex network of signal transduction and pathway interactions involved in rice biotic and abiotic stress tolerance by using a combination of molecular, biochemical, genetic, genomic and proteomic approaches; genetic and molecular dissection of defense signaling pathways in rice; proteomic and functional analyses of stress signaling complexes; high-throughput RNA interference system for rice functional genomics; genetic engineering for enhanced biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.