PEOPLE
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The Toth lab is committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive community of scientists. We welcome aspiring students, trainees, and collaborators from all walks of life, nationalities, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities.
We actively oppose and condemn racism, discrimination, and harassment and are working to eliminate bias and exclusionary practices from teaching, research and professional service.
We strive to build a welcoming and respectful work environment for all through communication, supportive relationships, engaging in self-education and trainings/workshops, and active organization of programs and events to broaden participation in Ecology, Evolution, and Entomology fields.
PEOPLE
AMY TOTH
Principal Investigator
PROFESSIONAL BIO: Amy is a Professor in two departments at Iowa State University: Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and Entomology. She teaches courses in animal behavior and bee biology, and conducts research on the mechanisms and evolution of social behavior in insects, with a focus on bees and wasps. Amy received her B.A. from Bard College in New York, PhD at the University of Illinois, and did postdoctoral work at Pennsylvania State University.
HUMAN BIO: Amy (she/her) has an academic spouse and two kids, and enjoys playing music, trail running, and spending time outdoors with her family. Hablo español.
RANDALL CASS
Extension Specialist
Randall received his B.A. from Willamette University in Oregon and M.S in International Agricultural Development from the University of California, Davis. He has done international work in agriculture development in El Salvador, Chile, and Guatemala. At ISU he currently teaches beekeeping, engages in extension programming related to beekeeping and wild pollinators, manages the honey bee apiary, and assists with research.
POSTDOCS
KATIE GEIST
Postdoctoral Researcher
Katie received her BSc. at Beloit College in Wisconsin and PhD. at Washington University in St. Louis. Her main focus as an evolutionary biologist has been on the genomic signatures of conflict and cooperation in plants and social amoebae. She is now turning her attention to social insects -- not only continue to study how conflict and cooperation have shaped the evolution of the genome -- but also to understand what genomic changes underly a major transition to sociality.
ALEX WALTON
Postdoctoral Researcher
Alex received his BS at the University of Arizona and PhD at Iowa State University. He also worked at the USDA Carl Hayden Bee Research Lab in Tucson. He is currently a postdoc in the lab, working collaboratively at Cornell University with the lab of Mike Sheehan. Alex has worked with ants, bees, and wasps and is interested in individual behavioral differences, phenotypic plasticity, and evolution.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
KATE BORCHARDT
PhD Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Kate's interest in pollination began from the desire to unwind the complexity of both direct and indirect ecosystem interactions. She studied pollination ecology in William’s lab at UC Davis before graduating with her Bachelors degree in 2018.
In Toth Lab, Kate has been studying the influence of environments on plant-insect interactions, ecosystem functions, and foraging behavior. With regards to the STRIPS project (Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips), she has discovered how small patches of native prairie in corn and soybean fields increase ecosystem functions and the extent these newly gained functions are resilient to exotic honey bee apiary presence. She has also expanded wasp research, investigating plant-wasp interactions, body pollen carriage, and pollination ability through multiple small studies.
As Kate adds the final touches to her dissertation, she is hoping to continue her research and eventually become a professor one day. She hopes to give young scientists opportunities to get involved in research, like the one she had as a freshman Biology major.
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ERIKA IBARRA-GARIBAY
MS Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Erika’s work revolves around one of the most important pollinators, bumble bees. Her current research involves studying the thermal tolerance plasticity of two Iowa bumble bee species, Bombus impatiens, and Bombus auricomus. As well as in two bumble bees in Argentina – the endangered species, Bombus dahlbombii and the invasive species, Bombus terrestris.
In addition to studying ecophysiology, Erika is conducting work on the endangered rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis. Her efforts include monitoring its threatened population and assessing its overall population health. This work will inform habitat management strategies for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and B. affinis recovery planning targets.
MORGAN MOORE
MS Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Morgan's interest in pollinators began as an undergrad, when she was granted an internship working on native bees with the Toth lab. After graduation she decided to pursue a master's degree in Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology. She is currently developing a large panel of nondestructive health indicators, which can be measured in the field. These indicators will hopefully serve to increase our current understanding of the health of Bombus spp. In addition to the non-destructive health indicators, she's also conducting genomic sequencing to identify possible pathogens and viruses present in our native bees.
CAMERON FAY
MS Student, Interdepartmental Genetics and Genomics
Cam did his BS in Evolutionary Biology at Skidmore College in New York. His current work investigates the genetic architecture of behavior.
AWESOME UNDERGRADUATES
STEPHANIE PARIS
2022 BEE SQUAD INTERN
DENISSE CAMARENA
2022 BEE SQUAD INTERN
AYRIN ALEXANDER
2022 BEE SQUAD INTERN
ALEX KURTT
SCIENCE WITH PRACTICE RESEARCH STUDENT
Alex is majoring in biology and environmental science. His current area of study is over wasp behavior and self-recognition in the presence of mirrors.
LEXIE SCHWARZ
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Lexie is actually not a bee... she is a human. A biology major in fact.
KELSEY O'BRIEN
DEAN'S HIGH IMPACT SCHOLAR
Kelsey is a Genetics major who has researched optimal methods for RNA extraction in bees and wasps.