Pennsylvania State University Bee Board Members

Diana Cox-Foster, Ph.D., professor of entomology and CCD researcher, Pennsylvania State University

Diana Cox-Foster, Ph.D., is a professor of entomology at Pennsylvania State University where she teaches courses on Insect Structure and Function, Developmental Biology, and Molecular Methods in Biology. Her research focuses on honey bees and native bees, specifically on viruses and other diseases affecting bees and the impacts of varroa mites. Her research extends from molecular analyses to physiological ecological interactions.

Cox-Foster is currently investigating the interactions of a parasitic mite, RNA-viruses and other microbes, and is beginning to investigate the role of the mites and the viruses in collapse of honey bee colonies. Her research has also revealed new information on the transmission routes of the picorna-like viruses in bees, the persistence of these viruses in the bees, and the immune system of the honey bee.

Cox-Foster has been quoted in such outlets as The New York Times and Bloomberg, and was interviewed for the PBS documentary "Silence of the Bees.” Cox-Foster has been actively involved in honey bee research for 10 years and some of her research has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Science Magazine. In addition, she has received numerous awards, including the 1998 Alex Laurie Award from the Society of American Florists, the 1995 AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Mentoring Award, the 1st Rosemary Schraer Mentoring Award, and was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow.

Cox-Foster grew up in Colorado. She received her bachelor’s degree in zoology and entomology at Colorado State University, her master’s and doctorate in entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and did her post doctorate research at Vanderbilt University.

Robert Berghage, Ph.D., associate professor of horticulture, bee garden expert, Pennsylvania State University

Berghage is the director of the Center for Green Roof Research at the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, and teaches a course in Eco-roof Technology. He is the extension specialist for greenhouse crops and is involved with garden use of herbaceous plants and new plant evaluations. Berghage teaches a course in herbaceous plant identification, production and use, and teaches plant propagation. Dr. Berghage performs both research and extension outreach at Penn State on flower gardens and green roofs. He works with the Penn State Master Gardener program and is interested in developing pollinator-friendly plantings for the enhancement of pollinator populations.

Maryann Frazier − Senior Extension Associate at Penn State, with a focus on integrated pest management

Frazier currently has responsibilities in the areas of apiculture extension, public science education and teaching. Current extension activities focus on a regional collaboration (MAAREC: The Mid-Atlantic Research and Extension Consortium) with researchers and other extension specialists in Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and New Jersey. Our aim is to develop an IPM approach to control honey bee diseases and mites and to improve information transfer techniques through traditional and innovative methods. Current teaching responsibilities include team teaching a "The Insect Connection" undergraduate course, and a "Bug Camp for Teachers" course. Current outreach activities include the coordination of the following annual events: The Great Insect Fair, Bug Camp for Kids, Advanced Bug Camp for Kids and Bug Camp for Teachers

Dennis vanEngelsdorp, senior extension associate, Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, acting state apiarist, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Dennis started keeping bees after taking an undergraduate course in beekeeping at the University of Guelph, Canada.  Once ‘stung’, he pursued a master’s degree in apiculture studying Buckfast bees and honey bee tracheal mites.  He then worked for the Canadian Government as a consultant to the Antigua Beekeepers Cooperative, in the West Indies.  He returned north to work at Cornell University as an extensionist where he helped develop their master beekeeping program.  He is currently employed as the Acting State Apiarist for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where he is in charge of the honey bee inspection program, and is active in honey bee disease management research. He is also one of the national officers of the Apiary Inspectors of America. He is active in research and has numerous publications in different journals, including Science magazine.

University of California Davis Bee Board Members

Melissa “Missy” Borel, Manager at the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH)

Missy received her bachelor’s in Plant Sciences from UC Davis in 2004, and her master's in Horticulture & Agronomy from UC Davis in 2007.  Her graduate research focus was (1) best practices for the development of educational signage in botanical gardens and (2) the physiological health benefits to recreating in an outdoor environment.  Since finishing graduate school, Missy has been the Program Manager at the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH).  Her role at the CCUH is to coordinate and execute programs that help to enhance urban living and environmental awareness for the people of California.  A current project of particular interest is the Honey Bee Haven garden.  Missy is working to coordinate the efforts of the project's various partners (Haagen-Dazs, Ketchum, Department of Entomology, Landscape Design and Architecture, Cagwin & Dorward, CCUH) by facilitating communication and scheduling necessary events and activities to acheive the project deadline and goals.

Sue Cobey, bee breeder and geneticist, University of California, Davis

Bee breeder and geneticist, Susan Cobey, leads the bee breeding program at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. Over the last 25 years, she has taught researchers and beekeepers from all over the world. Cobey’s expertise includes establishing and managing for more than 30 years a closed population breeding program; researching and writing for scientific publications; and teaching bee breeders how to inseminate queen bees. She developed techniques and equipment for instrumental insemination, including a ruby-tipped hook that (describe why this is great…it just seems a bit strange ending the sentence there).

Michelle Flenniken, Häagen-Dazs Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Davis, with a focus on the biology of honey bee viruses

A native of Nevada, Iowa, Flenniken received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry in 1998 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and her doctorate  in microbiology in 2006 from Montana State University, Bozeman.  She wrote her thesis on “Protein Cage Architectures for Targeted Therapeutic and Imaging Agent Delivery.”

In 1998-2000, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, West Africa, where she grew a variety of tree seedlings for an agro-forestry program. She participated in a study abroad program at Lancaster (England) University in 1996-97.

Flenniken is supported by an A. P. Giannini Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (April 2008) for her work in RNAi (what is this? Can you briefly describe or maybe spell out?). Her graduate work was supported by the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health; and the Louis V. and Norma Smith Fellowship, Department of Microbiology, Montana State University.

In February, 2008, Häagen-Dazs gifted UC Davis with $100,000 to address the bee population decline. The funds will benefit sustainable pollination research, target colony collapse disorder, and support a postdoctoral researcher.  Flenniken plans to use this funding for honeybee research supplies and conference attendance.

Eric Mussen, apiculturist for the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis

Honey bee specialist Eric Mussen has been the Extension Apiculturist at UC Davis since 1976. Mussen received the American Association of Professional Apiculturists’ excellence award for his bee industry leadership and apicultural research publications, and was named the California State Beekeepers’ Association’s 2006 “Beekeeper of the Year” for his industry-wide contributions. Mussen received his doctorate degree in entomology from the University of Minnesota in 1976 and then joined the UC Davis faculty, based at the Harry Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.

Michael Parrella, Ph. D., professor of entomology and associate dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Division of Agricultural Sciences, University of California, Davis

Dr. Parrella is a professor of entomology and associate dean in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Parrella began his academic career in the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Riverside. After eight years, he relocated to the University of California, Davis, where he now holds appointments in the Departments of Entomology and Environmental Horticulture. Parrella served as chair of entomology on the Davis campus from 1991 to 1999. In 1999, he was named associate dean of agricultural sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Parrella's research interests include the development of integrated pest management strategies on ornamental plants with an emphasis on biological control. His laboratory has played a fundamental role in advancing IPM and biological control strategies in the floriculture industry, and he has trained numerous researchers in prominent floricultural entomology positions across the U.S.

Parrella is the author of more than 350 publications. For 10 years he wrote a monthly column for Greenhouse Manager and is a contributing writer for GrowerTalks magazine. He received the California Association Research Award (1986), the Recognition Award from the Entomological Society of America (1987), the Futura Research and Education Award from the Professional Plant Growers Association (1991) and the Alex Laurie Research Award from the Society of American Florists (1997). He served as President, Pacific Branch, of the Entomological of America (1998) and was the recipient of the Virginia Tech Distinguished Alumni Award (1998).

Michael Parrella was born in New Jersey, and earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Rutgers University. He received a masters and doctorate in entomology from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Beekeeper Bee Board Members

Randy Oliver, beekeeping expert and teacher

Randy Oliver has kept bees for over forty years and now practices small commercial beekeeping in theSierra Nevada foothills in Grass Valley, California, running about 500 colonies in an interstate migratory operation. He also researches worldwide scientific literature and beekeeping practices applying his knowledge to practical beekeeping in this country with a series of published beekeeping journal articles covering such topics as: management of the varroa mite, bee nutrition, nosema disease, and the critical pollination of the immense California almond crop.

He holds a bachelors and a masters degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine and Humboldt State University, respectively.  He has presented beekeeping classes and seminars since 1980, and is a popular speaker on beekeeping issues, maintaining a website with worldwide readership at scientificbeekeeping.com. He is a local naturalist and teaches science classes twice a week for elementary students.

David Hackenberg, beekeeping expert and owner of Hackenberg Apiaries

David grew up on a farm in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania. As a teenager, he became interested in bees and beekeeping, thanks to some books on bees he received from his father. David started with one colony of bees as a Vo-Ag project his sophomore year at Mifflinburg High School. By the time he was a senior, David had expanded his single colony to 150 and had begun his life-long career as a beekeeper.

Not much has changed, except the size of his company, Hackenberg Apiaries. David now runs approximately 3,000 hives of bees in 5 states for pollination and honey production. Hackenberg Apiaries does approximately 7,500 pollination rentals each year, pollinating apples, blueberries, cantaloupes, pumpkins, and cranberries, as well as other fruits and vegetables. David has served as President of the American Beekeeping Federation and currently sits on the National Honey Board as the producer representative for region 7, representing 18 states in the eastern United States. David also sits on numerous bee research committees across the United States.