Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life. – Amy Poehler
Current Openings
Aukema Lab - MPB - Graduate OR Postdoctoral Position.pdfPostdoc or Graduate Student
Mountain pine beetle
Aukema Lab - EAB - Postdoctoral Position.pdfPostdoc
Emerald ash borer
Current Team
Professor of Forest Entomology
Brian Aukema
Brian moved the lab to the University of Minnesota in 2010 after a few years as a research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service at the University of Northern British Columbia. He has degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in forest entomology (MS, PhD) and biometry (environmental statistics, MS). In 2011, he was awarded a University McKnight Land-Grant Professorship. As a transplanted Canadian, his favourite type of stick is a hockey stick.
PhD Candidate
Emily Althoff
Following an undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois and a Masters at the University of Missouri, Emily arrived to help elucidate the chemical ecology of eastern larch beetle and study its natural enemies. Emily has completed the Preparing Future Faculty track for a career in teaching. She hails from Belleville, Illinois and is a Swiftie.
PhD Student
Jessica Rootes
Following a six-year stint in the US Air Force as a linguist working in intelligence, Jess arrived to study the dynamics of eastern spruce budworm in Minnesota and on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. She remains the only lab member past and present with a course on her transcripts entitled "Predictive Battlespace Awareness." Jess is an accomplished photographer and also enjoys all things crafty.
MS Student
Rose Picklo
Rose came to us from with a strong biomedical and microbiology background, including several years in which she oversaw the quality control lab for a local brewery. She is now unraveling the secrets of diapause in eastern larch beetle. Need a beer recommendation? She's got you covered.
MS Student
Grace Graham
Grace is studying resin production in eastern larch, which grows from here all the way to the state of Alaska that she calls home. Grace has certainly lived in some interesting places, such as on a fishing boat in the Bering Sea and at the McMurdo research station in Antarctica. Grace spent six years working as a science educator at The Anchorage Museum prior to joining our team. Her work is co-advised by Prof. Marcella Windmuller-Campione.
PhD Student
Sayesha Khanna
Sayesha joined us Fall 2023 after completing her Masters as India's representative to the Erasmus Mundus joint MS program in Plant Health sponsored by the European Union. She gained a strong background in Integrated Pest Management from studies in Spain, Italy, France, and the Netherlands and was elected valedictorian of her graduate cohort. She is working on adapting management of spongy moth with Btk to Minnesota's climate.
Research Technician
Ian Grossenbacher-Mcglamery
Ian recently graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor's in Biology. After two summers of work with us, he's stayed for the academic year. Ian is an avid runner and skier and has a strong beard game.
Research Technician
Clarissa Moore
After an undergraduate degree at Wellesley College in Boston that included semesters in the Caribbean and South Africa, Clarissa returned home to MN. She is leading the project studying the cold tolerance of the elongate hemlock scale. Clarissa enjoys road trips and outdoor adventures, where she often pauses to identify plants that no one asked about.
Voice of Wisdom / Best Lab Assistant Ever
Val Cervenka
Val retired from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in 2023 and decided to... come volunteer with us for a few hours every week!? How did we get so lucky! She helps process field samples, provides artistic advice, proofreads paragraphs, dispenses career guidance, identifies insects, embellishes stories, and much, much more.
Alumni
Graduate Students
August Kramer (MS 2023): Working with MGK in Minnesota
Jacob Wittman (MS 2018, PhD 2022): Data analyst with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dorah Mwangola (PhD 2022): Diagnostician with Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories national office
Grace Haynes (MS 2021): Working with water stewardship nonprofit organization in Ithaca, NY
Spencer Stout (MS 2021): Educational specialist at Coe College, IA
Zachary Smith (MS 2020): County forester in Colorado
Marie Hallinen (MS 2019): Peace Corps in Senegal, then took position with EPA in Seattle, WA
Rachel Nicoll (MS 2018): Forest health specialist with Minnesota DNR
Samuel (Fahrner) Ward (MS 2014, PhD 2018): Assistant professor at Ohio State University
Dylan Tussey (MS 2017): Postdoc at UC-Riverside
Andrea Hefty (PhD 2016): Entomologist with US Forest Service State and Private St. Paul field office
Derek Rosenberger (PhD 2016): Associate Professor at Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL
Marissa Streifel (MS 2016): Entomologist with US Forest Service State and Private St. Paul field office
Fraser McKee (MSc 2009, PhD 2015): Instructor at Lethbridge College, previously forest health officer with province of Alberta
Ewing Teen (MSc 2012): Research associate at the University of Northern British Columbia
Laura Machial (MSc 2011): First Nations' technical services liaison and biologist, Edmonton, Alberta
Jordan Koopmans (MSc 2011): Medical doctor, family practice, British Columbia
Honey-Marie de la Giroday (MSc 2009): Worked as technician with Canadian Forest Service, then became a nurse
Matthew Klingenberg (MSc, 2008); Worked as regional forest health officer, since moved to healthcare
Postdocs
Julia Leone (2022-23): Pollinator biologist with Friends of the Mississippi River
Devin Goodsman (2016-18): Research scientist with Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service
Kevin Chase (2016-18): Research entomologist in United Kingdom with Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories
Kishan Sambaraju (2008-2011): Research scientist with Laurentian Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service
Undergraduates
So much of our work is made possible by our awesome technicians and summer workers who contribute to our teams every year. Some are with us only for a few months, while others return for two or even three years. After almost 20 years as a lab (2006), it continues to be rewarding to see the diversity of careers that have been launched. Our students have gone on to positions in graduate schools (and now faculty), arboriculture, early childhood education, medical schools, state and federal agencies, and much, much more.
