The Team
Gordon Bennett
Principle Investigator
GB earned his phd at Berkeley and undergrad and UVM. He is interested in how insect-microbial symbioses influence the evolution of biological diversity and complexity. To address his research questions he uses plant-sap feeding insects as models of complex animal-microbial interactions with ecological implications. In particular, he loves leafhoppers and their microbes
Younghwan Kwak
NSF INSITE Postdoc
I earned my BS and MS at Chungnam National University in South Korea and PhD in Entomology at UC Riverside. I am interested in how insect-microbe symbioses evolve and the mechanisms driving these interactions across varying biotic and abiotic conditions. My current research in the Bennett lab focuses on the effects of climate change on Macrosteles quadrilineatus and its obligate symbionts.
Reo Maynard
HHMI Gilliam Fellow | Graduate Student | Professor @ Fresno City College
As a lover of insects, Reo Maynard received his B.S. in Biology from California State University, Fresno (Fresno State). He earned a master’s degree (M.S.) from Fresno State in Biology centered on invertebrate memory, perception, and navigation mechanisms, using alpine carpenter ants as his research model. As a Quantitative and Systems Biology Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Merced, he is currently studying the intricate relationship between carpenter ants and their obligate endosymbiotic bacteria, gram-negative Candidatus Blochmanniella. His research is focused on the nutritive and metabolic services Blochmanniella provides its carpenter ant host, as well as how loss of symbiotic partner affects the host in a behavioral/eusocial (hive-mind) context.
Miguell Estrada Caballero
Graduate Student
Miguel's research focuses on how hosts and their symbionts adapt to different ecosystems.
Gregory Biddle
Graduate Researcher
Greg is widely interested in the cellular interactions between hosts and their endosymbionts
Emily Solario
Undergraduate Student
Arlyn is interested in testing environmental influences on gene expression of macrosteles symbioses
Helaina Lindsay
Lab Technician
Interested in animal biology and care taking