Bug Talk

[RE-UPLOAD FROM DEC. 12, 2022]

In this episode Lauren Goldstein talks with Ben Phillips, who is a Vegetable Crops Educator at Michigan State University. Ben discusses his education and current job responsibilities working with growers.

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM JAN. 12, 2022]

In this episode Osten Eschedor (MSU Bug Club President) and Nate Howder (MSU Bug Club Vice President) talked about  everything MSU Bug Club related! Bug Club's mission is to provide a welcoming environment for students interested in learning about entomology to connect with fellow arthropod enthusiasts and develop professional skills. We chatted about the club's history, current activities, membership, meetings and future plans. This fun group has members from many different undergraduate majors and love to play games at their meetings. They also organize collecting trips and feed you snacks that have arthropods in them! 

Follow Bug Club on Discord and Instagram @bugclubmsu. Email them at [email protected]

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM DEC. 8, 2021]

In this episode Zsofia talked with Dr. Inga Zasada, nematologist with the USDA-ARS based out of Corvallis, OR. We chatted about how Inga was inspired by her scientist parents and growing up in Alaska and Oregon to want to become a biologist. She also talked about her unusual path to nematology, including being a Peace Corps volunteer on the Maltese Islands for 2 years where she had to learn on the job. We chatted about her graduate education at North Carolina State University and UC Davis and then working for the USDA as a nematologist.

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM NOV. 10, 2021]

This episode features Dr. Hannah Burrack, incoming chair of the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University. This new position start on Jan. 1, 2022, and in this episode we chatted about her background and thoughts on leadership.

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM NOV. 3, 2021]

In this episode Julie and Zsofia talked with Raul Medina, professor of entomology at Texas A&M. Raul received the Entomological Society of America's 2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Award. We chatted about how foreign-born people currently living in the US can work with US-born minorities to strengthen each other, how he came to connect his personal experiences to societal issues and how he has been active in the DEI movement since his time as a young professional. We discussed issues such as implicit bias, and talked about why it is sometimes difficult to have conversations about DEI and what we can do to normalize them.

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM SEPT. 22, 2021]

The MSU Entomology Department is very fortunate to have a wonderful new group of graduate students joining us in 2021. This episode features five of these new grad students: Cynthia Fiser, Julie Michaelson, Ronnie Miller, Charlotte Schuttler and Lauren Goldstein. We talked about how they selected graduate schools, why they ended up choosing MSU and what were the things they looked for in this selection process. We also discussed their future career plans and what skills they hope to learn in graduate school that will help them in finding a job.

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM SEPT. 8, 2021]

If you are interested in graduate school and are considering joining our department, this episode will provide you with a wealth of information about where to start this process. Dr. Anthony Cognato (Graduate Program Director) and Heather Lenartson (Administrative Assistant to the Chairperson and Academic Programs) talk about topics related to admission to graduate school and what you should expect. You can find resources on the MSU Entomology department website about finding a major professor, funding and the application process here.

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Thanks to Jason Roedel for improving the sound quality, Matt Grieshop for the music and Ellie Darling for designing the Bug Talk logo!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM SEPT. 1, 2021]

Dr. Anthony Cognato (Graduate Program Director) and Heather Lenartson (Administrative Assistant to the Chairperson and Academic Programs) talked about this year's new grad student orientation, the new Student Information System that replaces much of the physical paperwork for both PhD and MS students and allows them and their committee members to track their progress online, different types of MSU fellowship, application process for those interested in being considered for MSU fellowships/assistantships, graduate guidance committee composition, etc. We will be back with another episode about details of the application process to graduate school.

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM JUNE 16, 2021]

Dr. Jean Tsao (Twitter: @JTsao1) from MSU's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife talks about everybody's "favorite" ticks! We also chatted about how she became an expert in this group of arthropods and she shared this list of resources with us:

Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) page on  tick-borne diseases

Current MDHHS Lyme disease risk map (to which Jean's lab has contributed much of the tick data)

MDHHS document that summarizes the tick and disease risk trends over the last 5 years

MDHHS's webpage for ordering tick warning signs, tick ID cards, and tick collection/submission kits for tick ID [only].  You can also submit photos of ticks instead of the ticks themselves and probably get a faster turnaround time on the ID.

Here is the link to The Tick App, a mobile health app Jean and colleagues developed to improve tick prevention - both through outreach/education about ticks and tick prevention, but also through community science regarding both improving tick prevention practices as well as monitoring for invasive ticks. Here's a recent write-up about the app from MSU Today.

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.

[RE-UPLOAD FROM MARCH 31, 2021]

This week our cohosts celebrated ONE YEAR of the podcast! 🥳🥳 we answered questions submitted by our listeners (thank you all for your feedback! 🥰)

Watch this episode on YouTube here!

Stay connected with MSU Entomology on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.