Entomology-Student: Maya Nehme

Maya Nehme
Graduate Student

The Pennsylvania State University
521 Ag Sciences & Industries Building
University Park, PA 16802

Phone: 814-863-6069
Email: men151@psu.edu

Degree Sought:

Dual Ph.D. degree in Entomology and Comparative and International Education

Study Abroad with SUSPROT Program: Spring/Summer 2007
I worked with Dr. Joop vanLoon in Wageningen University on the Colorado Potato Beetle pheromones, testing the response of European populations to the pheromone and plant volatiles previously identified and tested in the U.S. In the process, I learned the Electroantennography technique and more about the beetle biology and physiology.

During the same summer, I visited INRA-Versailles for two weeks and worked with Dr. Frederic Marion-Poll on gustative learning of Spodoptera caterpillars and pheromones of Rhinco beetles. I also got the chance to visit other laboratories in INRA and learn about the different techniques and research projects.

Awards:

AIARD Future Leader Forum Scholarship - June 2008
Lloyd E. Adams Memorial Grant-in-aid Award - June 2007
Ardeth & Norman Frisbey International Student Award - April 2007
Penn State Student Leader Scholarship - January 2007

Education:

B.S. Agricultural Engineering, Lebanese University
M.S. Plant Protection, American University of Beirut

Research Interests:

1- International Forest Management:
I am interested in Forest conservation and management, mainly in terms of managing insect outbreaks in forest ecosystems. My BS and MS projects were part of the FAO TCP/LEB/0169 entitled: “Protection of the Forests with Particular Emphasis on the New Pest Cephalcia Tannourinensis Infesting Lebanon Cedars”. I also did some volunteer work in Forest plantations and regeneration projects throughout Lebanon in cooperation with local and international NGOs.

2- Insect behavior and chemical signaling:
I am also interested in the chemical signaling between insects and in insect-plant interactions. My focus area is the study of insect reproductive behavior and the role of pheromones in mate-finding and recognition. My previous research (my B.S. and M.S. theses projects) was based on the study of pheromones of Cephalcia tannourinensis and Ernobius spp. attacking Cedrus libani spring and summer buds, respectively, in the cedar forest of Tannourine in Lebanon. I also studied the kairomonal signal produced by the summer buds that affects the oviposition of females Ernobius spp. Since I believe that forest insect management should be conducted using the safest approach, my study of semiochemicals aims at using these as a monitoring tool to predict insect outbreaks.

PhD project at Penn State:
Currently, I am working on the semiochemicals of the Asian Longhorned Beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis; an invasive wood-boring species introduced from China to USA in 1996 with wood-packing material.

I am testing the attractiveness of the synthesized pheromones of these beetles to assess their potential use as lure in monitoring traps both in China and USA and testing different trapping techniques to optimize trapping potential.

Link to Curriculum Vitae