Alumni

Susan Cobey

Susan Cobey

Sue is world renowned for her expertise on honey bee reproductive biology and instrumental insemination. She has trained honey bee researchers and queen breeders from all over the world in cutting edge reproductive techniques. She was an integral part of the WSU germplasm collection and honey bee breeding efforts in our program.

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Katy Ayres

Katy is earning dual degrees in bioengineering and biochemistry at WSU with plans to pursue a Ph.D. in mycology and engineering. Katy was inspired after reading about WSU bee lab research with Ganoderma lucidum and worked to grow nesting habitat using medicinal fungi for cavity-dwelling pollinators.

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Dan Reynolds

Daniel Reynolds

Masters, 2023
Dan’s interest in honey bees began as a lab and program manager for the Bee Informed Partnership in Maryland. He began his career at WSU as the Pullman bee program manager in 2020. During his masters, he studied the impact of fungal extracts on honey bee health.

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Adam Ware profile

Adam Ware

Masters, 2023
Adam spent several years working as a commercial beekeeper before joining the graduate program at WSU. His research interests pertain to sustainable and integrative methods in agricultural management with emphasis in queen breeding and honey bee health.

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Dr. Kelly Kulhanek

Dr. Kelly Kulhanek

Assistant Professor
As an assistant professor of Pollinator Research and Extension, Dr. Kulhanek addressed beekeeper needs such as locally-specific best practices for bee management and crop pollination, and created extension programs that put the latest research into the hands of stakeholders.  

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Dr. Jennifer Han

Dr. Jennifer Han

Assistant Professor
Dr. Han’s research program was centered on developing fungal based biological control agents for arthropod pests. Specifically, she worked on breeding a fungal biopesticide to control the Varroa mite and exploring fungal and botanical based solutions to honey bee nutrition and overall health.

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Dr. Nick Naeger

Dr. Nick Naeger

Assistant Professor
Dr. Naeger’s research program focused on understanding the interactions between honey bee nutrition, diseases, and the bee immune system. He identified immune dysfunction from pesticide exposure through pollens, nectars, and other food sources, and explored ways to correct it. 

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Erik Nelson

Undergraduate, 2022
Erik Nelson is studied Biology with a pre-medicine track at WSU. He helped with field work, general colony maintenance, and assisting with research projects in the lab. He loves working with the bees and hopes to keep bees in the future!

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Em Rendelman profile

Em Rendelman

Masters, 2022
Em is a fourth-generation beekeeper and has been keeping bees since they were six. They earned a BS in Agriculture from Austin Peay State University and their Masters degree from the WSU Entomology program in 2022 working in Dr. Brandon Hopkins lab. They studied the efficacy of novel formulations of varroa treatments.

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Melanie Kirby

Masters, 2021
Melanie received her Masters degree in 2021 where she used RFID tags to monitor mating flight behavior with implications in bee breeding in the changing climate. She received a Fulbright NatGeo Scholarship for her project titled “Bees and Seeds: how endemic strains of honey bees can support sustainable apiculture”.

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Stephen Onayemi

Stephen Onayemi

Masters, 2021
Stephen received his Masters degree in 2021 from the WSU entomology program. He studied the effects of cold storage on honey bee health. After receiving his Masters degree, he has chosen to continue on at WSU to pursue his PhD.

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Anna Webb

Anna Webb

Masters, 2021
Anna received her Masters degree from WSU in the spring of 2021. Her research focused on finding alternative methods to current pesticide treatments to decrease the amount of chemical input into honey bee colonies. By using an entomopathogenic fungus, her research evaluates differences between chemical treatment standards and biological control agents in colonies.

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Connor Auth

Conner Auth

Masters, 2021
Conner received his Masters degree from WSU in 2021. He developed novel freezing methods for honey bee semen use in cryopreservation. His end goal is to make cryopreservation technology more accessible to animal breeders and conservation biologists.

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Megan Taylor

Megan Taylor

Doctor of Philosophy, 2016
Under the advisement of Dr. Sheppard, her research focused on assessing the genetic diversity of Old World honey bee populations as a potential resource for U.S. bee breeding efforts.

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Natalie Boyle

Natalie Boyle

Masters, 2012
Natalie Boyle received her Masters Degree from WSU in the spring of 2012. She is going on to complete her PhD here as well. Natalie has been interested in honey bees since grade school, and after receiving her B.S. in Biology at Western Washington University, her graduate research focused on colony-level effects of pesticide residue exposure.

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Judy Wu profile

Judy Wu

Masters, 2010
Judy Wu was a masters student who is interested in honey bee colony health and the potential effects of in-hive and environmental chemical residue exposure. Her M.Sc. research included life-table and behavioral studies of bees exposed to sub-lethal pesticide levels. Judy is now an extension & research entomologist at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
jwu-smart@unl.edu

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Matthew Smart profile

Matthew Smart

Masters, 2010
Matthew’s graduate research focused on examining the distribution of microsporidian parasites in Pacific Northwest honey bees. In addition to conducting extensive fieldwork in WSU’s historical “Feedmill Apiary”, Matthew assisted the WSU diagnostic laboratory with molecular identification of the Nosema species.

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Debbie Delaney profile

Debbie Delaney

Doctor of Philosophy, 2008
Debbie left the Oregon coast for opportunities in the loess soil of the Palouse. Deb conducted MSc research at OSU on aspects of sperm production in honey bee drones. She continued work on honey bee reproduction in her PhD research project on genetic differentiation and micro-evolution in honey bees. Dr. Delaney is now a Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Delaware. dadelane@udel.edu

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ben-horwath

Ben Horwath

Masters, 2007
Ben worked with Dr. Sheppard to compare queens, selected for apiculturally advantageous traits, that would become commercially available to beekeepers with migratory operations in the Pacific Northwest.

Jamie Strange profile

Jamie Strange

Doctor of Philosophy, 2005
Jamie Strange’s Ph.D. research centered on understanding the ecological genetics of an endemic “ecotype” of honey bee in southwestern France, including an investigation of genetic introgression via drone congregation areas. Jamie is now a professor in entomology at Ohio State University.
strange.54@osu.edu

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Melissa Gardner profile

Melissa Gardner

Masters, 2002
Melissa was a masters student who moved to Pullman due, in part, to the offerings of the local opera company. Melissa’s research was on simultaneous selection of multiple traits in honey bees and some of her selected honey bee stocks have been incorporated into the continuing WSU bee breeding program.

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Marco Costa profile

Marco Costa

Doctor of Philosophy, 1998
Marco was a Ph.D. student from the Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, SP Brasil who arrived in Pullman to enjoy the seaside vistas. Marco’s research was primarily directed toward understanding the systematics of the subfamily Meliponinae. Marco returned to Brasil and received his Ph.D. in 1998. Dr. Costa can be reached by email: pkin@iris.ufscar.br
Lionel Garnery Profile

Dr. Lionel Garnery

Dr. Lionel Garnery was a visiting professor from Versailles University and left France for the culinary challenges extant in eastern Washington. Lionel’s research includes the phylogeography of honey bee subspecies, the evolution of the genus Apis and the evolution of mitochondrial DNA within the Apoidea. He has developed some interest in Washington state wines and in winter can be seen on nearby downhill ski slopes demonstrating the French flying stop. Lionel.Garnery@pge.cnrs-gif.fr
Veroniquie Garnery profile

Dr. Veronique Garnery

Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Veronique Garnery was a postdoctoral researcher who left Paris to enjoy the almost limitless variety of jazz and blues clubs of eastern Washington. Her research interests are in the field of population genetics and her work at WSU involved study of population structure in A. m. lamarckii, the Egyptian honey bee. These bees are maintained in apiaries of 1000 colonies or more in mud tube hives and represent a possible distinct lineage within the species.
Sam Hapke profile

Sam Hapke

Masters
Sam Hapke received his MS degree at WSU and now works with the Sustainability in Prisons Project through Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
Sally Hasher profile

Sally Hasher

Research Technician
Sally Hasher is a research technician who left Lewiston, Idaho to find solitude in the rolling hills surrounding Pullman and to see for herself the special quality of light that bathes the Palouse. In addition to myriad duties pertaining to the totality of the Apiary Program at WSU, Sally finds time for motorcycle riding and ice fishing.
Beth Kahkonen profile

Beth Kahkonen

Apiary and Laboratory Manager
Beth Kahkonen was the Apiary and Laboratory Manager. Beth hails from Pennsylvania and originally joined the Pullman crowd to continue her white-water rafting guide business. Beth received a M.Sc. in Entomology from WSU for research on the use of botanical ils to control parasitic honey bee mites. Prior to her acclaimed return to Pullman in 2008, Beth’s interim journey included positions in apicultural and medical research laboratories. Beth is an active motorcyclist and rock climber in her spare time.
Irfan Kandemir Profile

Dr. Irfan Kandemir

Doctor of Philosophy
Irfan has returned to Turkey as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Zonguldak Karaelmas University. Irfan remains interested in areas of natural introgression between honey bee subspecies and uses both morphological and molecular data to assess the complex interactions among Eastern Mediterranean honey bees. He can be reached by email: irfankandemir@hotmail.com
Marina Meixner profile

Dr. Marina Meixner

Research Associate
Dr. Marina Meixner conducted her research at the Institut fur Bienenkunde in Oberursel, Germany. Research interests and experience include intraspecific taxonomy of the honey bees, investigation of introgression among endemic subspecies, design and application of computer-assisted morphological analysis and the study of introduced populations of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly. Her current work includes selection and breeding honey bees as part of a IPM program for parasitic mite management.
kristen-northfield

Kristen Northfield

Diagnostic Laboratory Manager
Kristen Northfield managed the WSU Honey Bee Diagnostic Laboratory while here in Pullman. She received and processed samples from beekeepers, WSU research apiaries, and collaborating apicultural researchers.
devrim-oskay

Dr. Devrim Oskay

Research Associate
Dr. Devrim Oskay was a Research Associate at WSU for nearly two years. Devrim worked on a USDA-SARE funded program to propagate, test, and distribute selected honey bee germplasm to beekeepers in the PNW. He was also involved in a coordinated program between WSU and UC-Davis to enhance US honey bee diversity. Devrim received his PhD from the University of Puerto Rico for his work on honey bee behavior and genetics. He has recently accepted a position back in his home country of Turkey.