Giovana Matos Franco 418 Life Sciences Bldg. Baton Rouge, LA 70803 Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University [email protected] Education MSc. Entomology 2020. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge - LA, USA. Current GPA 3.61. Advisor: Dr. Rodrigo Diaz. Thesis: Impact of Entomopathogens on Crapemyrtle Bark Scale Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae (Kuwana) and Natural Enemies.

B.S. Agricultural Engineering 2017. Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia - MG, Brazil. Advisor: Dr Marcus Vinicius Sampaio. Degree in agronomy GPA 3.00, first place in the selective process. Thesis: Silicon effect on the host quality of graminum (: ) for the parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Honors and Awards International travel award of the Microbial Control Division for the upcoming Annual Meeting in Valencia, Spain, of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology (SIP) in July 2019. First place in the LSU Department Entomology “Graduate Symposium,” category 3- minutes oral presentation Master’s in October 2018.

Research experience

- Effectiveness entomopathogenic fungi formulated into of entomopathogens against the crapemyrtle bark scale (CMBS), Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae (Kuwana) (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae): Impacts of biopesticides on CMBS population – treatments were delivered on laboratory, greenhouse, and field conditions, and scale mortality was assessed and pathogenicity confirmed. Skills learned on this project: General biology of entomopathogenic fungi; pathogenicity confirmation (identifying dead scales, inducing fungal sporulation, pathogen isolation, and identification using morphological and molecular techniques - focused on Beauveria bassiana and Isaria fumosorosea); how to prepare samples and take SEM pictures; how to plan and proceed experiments with scale . - Interactions between biological control agents: Assessing direct and indirect effects of entomopathogenic fungi formulated into biopesticides towards common CMBS predators. Skills learned on this project: How to proceed experiments using coccinellids; recovering fungal spores that are attached to other ’s body; improved insect collecting skills. - Integrated pest management on : Different aspects of the interaction between sorghum, the green Schizaphis graminum Rondani (Hemiptera: Aphididae), and it’s parasitoid Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) were studied, including: effects of silicon as a resistance inductor factor on different cultivars of sorghum and how it impacted on the aphid biology; which instar of the aphid would lead to a higher fitness of the parasitoid; and how the silicon amendment impacted the third trophic level (parasitoid). Skills learned on this project: How to proceed experiments on field conditions in Brazil; keeping aphid and parasitoid colonies; dissecting and parasitoids to assess size and fecundity; silicon extraction procedure.

Publications Vieira, LJP, Franco, GM, Sampaio, MV (2019). Host Preference and Fitness of Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Different Instars of the Aphid Schizaphis graminum. Neotropical Entomology. doi: 10.1007/s13744-018-0662-z.

Scientific Presentations Franco, G.M., Diaz, R., Chen, Y. Impacts of entomopathogens on Crapemyrtle Bark Scale Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae (Eriococcidae). Society of Invertebrate Pathology (SIP). August 1, 2019. Valencia, Spain. Franco, G.M., Diaz, R., Chen, Y. Efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi against the crapemyrtle bark scale. ESA-SEB Annual Meeting. March 3, 3019. Mobile, United States. Franco, G.M., Diaz, R., Chen, Y. Efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi against the crapemyrtle bark scale. LSU Department of Entomology Annual Graduate Student Symposium. October 18, 2018. Baton Rouge, United States. Franco, G.M., Sampaio, M.V. Host quality of Schizaphis graminum to the parasitoid Lysiphlebus testaceipes: instar effect. SICONBIOL. June 6, 2017. Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. Lima, D.T., Franco, G.M., Sampaio, M.V. Silicon effect on the attractivity of the parasitoid Lysiphlebus testaceipes for sorghum plants infested with Schizaphis graminum. SICONBIOL. June 6, 2017. Ribeirao Preto, Brazil.

Outreach Activities August 23rd , 2019: Provided biological control updates in field day held by LSU Hammond Research Station; March 2019 – Present: Help identification of different species on iNaturalist; February 2018 – Present: Monitoring crapemyrtle bark scale infestation and reporting on EDDMaps; August 2018 – May 2019: Mentor at the LSU program “EnvironMentors” - Mentored a high school student to proceed science projects about general environment studies including experimental design, data collection, and analysis of results; April 22nd, 2018 and April 14th, 2019: Volunteer at the “AgMagic” event, where stands are organized and different aspects of agriculture are presented to the public.

Professional Associations - 2019 – Present: Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil (SEB); - 2019 – Present: Society of Invertebrate Pathology (SIP); - 2018 – Present: Entomological Society of America (ESA); - 2018 – Present: Louisiana Nursery and Landscape Association (LNLA). Non-technical Publications Crapemyrtle bark scale website – Provided general information about the pest biology, distribution, management techniques, and natural enemies. https://www.lsuagcenter.com/crapemyrtle

Grant Proposals Southern SARE (SSARE, United States). 2019-2020. Exploration of naturally occurring entomopathogens on the Crapemyrtle Bark Scale. $9,750. Rodrigo Diaz, PI., Giovana Matos Franco, Co-PI. Not funded. IPM South. 2018-2019. Effects of Multiple Stresses in Crapemyrtle Trees. $29,950. Rodrigo Diaz, PI., Yan Chen, Giovana Matos Franco, Co-PI. Not Funded.

Other Professional Activities Provided training for undergraduate students on how identify natural enemies and basic microbiological procedures; Provided consultancy identifying plants infested with crapemyrtle bark scale on site; Trained user for the scanning electron microscope “FEI Quanta 200”; Experience on weed biological control: sampling the invasive plant Salvinia molesta, assessing plant density and assessing natural enemy presence, Cyrtobagous salviniae (Calder & Sands) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae); Monitored pest infestations and presence and abundance of natural enemies on sorghum fields in Brazil; Experience on maintaining insect colonies (aphids, scales, predators, and parasitoids); General greenhouse procedures, including sanitation, safety, product application, and different plants maintenance.

Additional skills Languages: Fluent in Portuguese and English; Can read well, speak roughly, and listen well Spanish.

Professional References

Michael Stout, [email protected] Professor and Department Head. Specialization: Host-Plant Resistance, Forage Crops Insect Pest Management

Rodrigo Diaz, [email protected] Professor Specialization: Biological Control and Invasive Species – LSU Department of Entomology

Vinson Doyle, [email protected] Professor Specialization: Fungal systematics and population genetics; fungal taxonomy; plant-associated fungi; bioinformatics; statistical phylogenomics; phylogenetic methods.

Yan Chen, [email protected] Professor and Extensionist Specialization: IPM in ornamental plant production and landscape management – LSU Hammond Research Station