S. Patricia Stock Lab

LAB MEMBERS

• Lab Pictures
• Member Profiles

In the News

Nematodes at Capitol Hill!!!

Kathryn Plichta was chosen among 400 applicants across the country to represent University of Arizona and the state of Arizona for her research on “Nematode-Bacteria Symbiosis”. The title of her presentation was: “A worm and a microbe: A new model system for understanding symbiotic interactions between unicellular and multicellular organisms”. Kate had the opportunity to go to Washington DC as part of the Council on Undergraduate Research's annual event “Posters on the Hill”. Kate and Dr. Stock met with the Arizona's congressional delegations and discuss their research and undergraduate education plans. WAY TO GO KATE!!!

Ming-Min Lee — Student Travel Award

Ming won the first place for the SIP-Nematode Division Student Travel Award to attend the 40th Annual Meeting of the Society of Invertebrate Pathology in Quebec Canada, this past August 2007. Ming presented preliminary results of her research project. Her oral presentation was entitled “A phylogenetic hypothesis on the evolution and interactions of Xenorhabdus spp. and their Steinernema hosts”.

Member Profiles

• Principal Investigator

  • S. Patricia Stock

• Post-doctoral Associates

  • Sam-Kyu Kim
  • Yolanda Flores-Lara

• Graduate Students

  • Ming-Min Lee
  • Kate Faulkner

• Former Graduate Students

  • Joanna Gress
  • Benjamin Rivera-Orduño

• Undergraduate Students

  • Kate Plichta
  • Chan Maketon
  • Rousel Orozco
  • Marjorie Skeie

• Visiting Scientists/Scholars

  • Dr. Enrique Castigioni
  • Octavio Zegarra
  • Sonay Aydin
  • Juan Carlos Lopez Nuñez
  • Judith Hueso-Guerrero
  • Ahmad Mahasneh

• Past Undergraduate Students / Trainees

  • Roy Yim
  • Luis Lozano
  • Jaika Ohja
  • Brittany Tamarkin
  • Pavla Senkyrikova
  • Eun Hee Kwon
  • Shaun Peterson

Lab Members: Principal Investigator

S. Patricia Stock

Associate Professor, Department of Entomology
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Sciences, Division of Plant Pathology

1992: Ph.D. Natural Sciences (Parasitology), National University of La Plata, Argentina
1985: B.S. Zoology, University of La Plata, Argentina

My research interest is biodiversity of insect-parasitic and pathogenic nematodes and their role in ecosystem function. I am actively engaged in biotic survey and inventory projects in different geographic regions of the world, which allow me to make significant contributions toward the discovery of new species, the understanding of the ecology and behavior of insect-parasitic nematodes and their consideration in biological control and integrated pest management programs. Additionally, I am interested in studying the ecology and genetics of nematode populations from agricultural and natural ecosystems, particularly the study of host-parasite relationships and interactions (including plant and insect-parasitic nematodes), such as phoresis, facultative, obligate parasitism, and pathogenesis.

A new research area in our program focuses on the study of Steinernema nematodes and their bacterial symbionts (Xenorahbdus spp.) as models for understanding mutualistic interactions between animals and microbes. Current research relates to the study of structural and developmental features of the bacterial receptacle in the nematode hosts to better understand the colonization process. We are also interested in recognizing the chemical signals and physical interactions that occur between the nematode and their symbionts and how these interactions might affect each organism. Furthermore, we also investigate evolutionary histories of both nematode and bacterial symbionts considering a multigene repertoire and study co-evolutionary histories and diversification of these two partners.

See Department of Entomology profile
Download Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Lab Members: Post-doctoral Associates

Sam-Kyu Kim

Sam Kyu received his Ph.D degree in Entomology 2005 (Department of Entomology) from Clemson University, South Carolina. His dissertation research focused on the ecology and phylogeny of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) and their Trichomycete (Zygomycota: Trichomycetes) symbiotes. Sam-Kyu is currently conducting research on the developmental aspects of the bacterial vesicle of steinernematid nematodes.

Yolanda Flores-Lara

Yolanda received her Ph.D. degree in Plant Pathology in 2005 (Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona). Her dissertation research focus on the characterization of early stages of the infection process of Meloidogyne incognita race 3 in susceptible and non-susceptible alfalfa cultivars. Yolanda is currently conducting research on the ultrastructure of the bacterial vesicle of steinernematid nematodes. She is also an Assistant Professor at the Universidad de Sonora, Unidad Norte, Caborca Mexico, where she lectures various biology courses for undergraduate students.

Lab Members: Graduate Students

Ming Lee

Ming is a graduate student in the Department of Entomology.  Her undergraduate degree comes from Oregon State University, where she acquired a broad experience in field herpetology to Ithomiine phylogeny. Ming is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Entomology and her research deals with the co-phylogeny of nematode bacterium complex Steinernema-Xenorahbdus.  Ming’s research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Kate Faulkner

Kate is a new graduate student in the Department of Entomology. She has a Bachelors degree from Oregon State University at Corvallis, Oregon. Kate is pursuing a Masters degree in Entomology and her research project deals with the assessment of Arizona-native entomopathogenic nematodes for control of western urban pests. Kate’s research is funded by the Western Regional IPM Program (CSRESS-USDA).

Lab Members: Former Graduate Students

Joanna Gress

Joanna received her Masters degree (non-thesis) in Plant Sciences in August 2007. Joanna joined the Stock lab in the Fall of 2004. While she was a member of the lab she conducted research on biocontrol of the citrus nematode. This research was funded by the W-SARE program, ARCS foundation and the Arizona Citrus Research Council.

Benjamin Rivera-Orduño

Benjamin obtained a Masters degree from Universidad de Sonora, Mexico. Benjamin conducted research dealing with the implementation of biological control agents (mostly fungi and nematodes) to control cicadas and plant pathogens in asparagus fields in the state of Sonora. He is currently a farm advisor and also a Lecturer at this university.

Lab Members: Undergraduate Students and Trainees

Kate Plichta

Kathryn is an undergraduate majoring in Environmental Science with a focus in Biology. Kathryn is in the Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) and her main research in the lab focuses on the Steinernema-Xenorhabdus symbiosis.

Chan Maketon

Chan is from Thailand, and he is a senior undergraduate pursuing a Bachelors degree in Plant Sciences. He is currently assisting with research dealing with biological control alternatives of the citrus nematode, Tylenchulus semipenetrans, in Arizona.

Rousel Orozco

Rousel is an undergraduate student in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Rousel previously attended the Pima Community College I Tucson, Arizona. He is currently conducting research on Xenorhabus bacteria, the symbiont of Steinernema nematodes. He is also assisting with experiments related with the characterization of Cyclodepsipeptide secondary metabolites from the insect-pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana.

Marjorie Skeie

Marjorie is a San Miguel High School student. She joined the Stock lab last summer as lab-apprentice fellow. Marjorie is learning nematode morphology and is currently involved in the characterization a new entomopathogenic nematode species, assisting with digital morphometrics and image capturing. Marjorie also assists undergraduate and graduate students with their research projects.

Lab Members: Visiting Scientists/Scholars

Dr. Enrique Castigioni, Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay

Dr. Castiglioni visited the lab this past summer to gain knowledge on systematics and biology of insect parasitic nematodes, with special emphasis on Mermithidae.

Octavio Zegarra, Centro Internacional de la Papa, Peru

Octavio spent one month in the lab for training on molecular systematics of entomopathogenic nematodes. Octavio is interesting in characterizing entomopathogenic nematodes that were collected in Peru and other Andean countries of South America.

Sonay Aydin, University of Aydin, Turkey

Sonay is a graduate student from University of Aydin, Turkey. She is pursuing a Masters degree. She spent the summer of 2007 in the lab to molecularly characterize entomopathogenic nematodes from Turkey. She also learned nematode morphology and systematics.

Juan Carlos Lopez Nuñez, Cenicafe, Colombia

Juan Carlos is a researcher at CENICAFE (Coffee Institute) in Colombia. He is currently working on the identification (morphological and molecular) of entomopathogenic nematode isolates from coffee plantations in Colombia and is planning to consider these nematodes as a biological control strategy for the coffee berry borer.

Judith Hueso-Guerrero, Universidad de Colima, Mexico

Judith visited the lab for six month to receive training in techniques dealing with ecological essays with entomopathogenic nematodes. She conducted research with native Steinernema species from agave plantations from Mexico. Judith is pursuing a doctorate degree at Universidad de Colima, Mexico.

Ahmad Mahasneh, University of Jordan, Jordan

Ahmad is a graduate student from University of Jordan. He received an Owens Peace Fellowship from International Arid Lands Consortium (IALC), to visit the lab and conduct research related to nematode diversity in Jordan. This research is funded by IALC-USDA CREES Program and represents a collaboration between University of Arizona and University of Jordan.

Lab Members: Past Undergraduate Students and Trainees

Roy Yim

Roy is a first generation Korean-American student he obtained a Bachelors degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a minor in General Business Administration. While at the Stock lab he assisted with various research projects in the laboratory including molecular diagnostics of entomopathogenic nematodes. Past projects that he worked, focus on the evaluation of Arizona-native EPNs for the control of lepidopetran pests in lettuce crops.

Luis Lozano

Luis joined the Stock lab in the Fall of 2006. He is pursuing a Bachelors degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. He assisted with experiments dealing with the ecological characterization of Arizona-native entomopathogenic nematodes.

Jaika Ohja

Jaika is from Nepal and is currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in Microbiology. She graduated in the Spring 2007. She assisted with experiments dealing with the ecological characterization of Colombia-native Steinernema species.

Brittany Tamarkin

Brittany was a Summer-Intern Student from the Pima Community College, Tucson Arizona.  She is pursuing a degree in Biotechnology.  Brittany’s research focused on the molecular characterization of EPN from South Africa.

Pavla Senkyrikova

Pavla graduated in the summer ’06 with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics at the University of Arizona.  Pavla worked in the lab for three years conducting several research projects involving essays with EPN. She is currently attending Dental School at University of California San Francisco.

Eun Hee Kwon

Eunhee graduated in the summer ’06 with a Bachelors degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Arizona.  Eun Hee worked in the lab for almost 2 years conducting various projects as part of her independent study training.  She is currently working at the Cancer Center at the University of Arizona.

Shaun Peterson

Shaun spent last winter ’06 as a Winter-term Fellow in the lab.  Shaun Graduated from the Marian College, Font du Lac, WI, with a Bachelors degree in Nursing.  Shaun conducted research dealing with the ecological characterization of Steinernema isolates from Wisconsin. Shaun is currently working for a biotech company in Wisconsin.