Chemical communication is truly the unspoken language of nature. The ability of animals to perceive and transmit information through chemicals is a remarkable aspect of our natural world. My interest in chemical ecology originated with a high school lecture on pheromones. I remember how astounded I was to learn that chemicals could be used to find food, exhibit fear or danger, or even to attract a mate. As a chemistry major at Nazareth College, my organic chemistry and biology professors encouraged me to perform research studies in chemical ecology. My first project as a Sophomore involved the synthesis of a simple pheromone mimic for the American cockroach (Periplanata americana). Following graduation, I was fortunate to receive a Fulbright Fellowship which allowed me to perform research in the Pheromone Group at Lund University in Sweden. There, I used GC-MS and electrophysiological techniques to identify ligands activating plant odor-specific olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in the African scarab Pachnoda marginata. Upon identification, I also helped design a two-choice bioassay to test the behavioral significance of these volatiles.
My Fulbright experience prepared me well for my dissertation research on the Rhagoletis species complex. Under the advisement of Drs. Wendell L. Roelofs and Thomas Eisner, I have analyzed peripheral chemoreception in a group of flies believed to be undergoing sympatric speciation via host-shifts. By using volatile extraction and identification techniques, electrophysiology and flight tunnel analyses, I have examined the behavior and physiology of several members of this group, each infesting its own host plant. I have found that variation in chemoreception can effect how host chemicals are perceived, and can impact the shift of a population from one host to another, as well as subsequent speciation.
My other passion is that of education. I wish to someday instill my love for science in the minds of my students and motivate them to seek knowledge in their world - so they can gain understanding and inclusion in it. As a graduate of Nazareth College, I received both a B.S. in Chemistry and NYS teaching certification for grades 5-12. I decided to pursue a Ph.D. where I could combine my love for practicing science with my desire to teach it as a professor in a university setting.
With the exception of a research project with high school students on human odor recognition, my research in chemical ecology has primarily focused on invertebrate studies. Yet my fascination is with chemocommunication itself, not with a single phylum. In future research I hope to broaden my experience in chemical ecology to other systems, be they mammalian, aquatic, or unicellular. Chemical ecology is ubiquitous across the animal kingdom, and to understand the language of chemicals is to converse with Mother Nature herself.