Curriculum Vitae Michelle A. Duennes Biology Department Email: [email protected] Saint Vincent College Website: www.maduennes.wordpress.com 300 Fraser Purchase Rd. Latrobe, PA 15650 Academic Positions 08/2018 – present Assistant Professor of Biology. Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA. 01/2016 – 08/2018 Postdoctoral Scholar. University of California, Riverside. Project: Understanding and mitigating the effects of agricultural intensification on our most economically important native pollinator. Advisor: S. Hollis Woodard Education 05/2010 – 12/2015 PhD Entomology. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dissertation: Hiding in plain sight: Unveiling cryptic diversity and patterns in bumble bees Advisor: Sydney Cameron 08/2008 – 05/2010 MS Entomology. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Thesis: Phylogeny and color pattern evolution in a New World bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus: Pyrobombus) species complex. Advisor: Sydney Cameron 08/2004 – 05/2008 BS Biology (Honors). Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati, OH. Thesis: The rate of DNA degradation in pinned insect specimens (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae: Cicindela spp.). Research Advisor: Gene Kritsky University Teaching 01/2019 – 05/2019 General Biology II Lab, Saint Vincent College 01/2019 – 05/2019 Evolution and Systematics Lecture and Lab, Saint Vincent College 08/2018 – 12/2018 Ecology Lecture and Lab, Saint Vincent College 01/2015 – 05/2015 Teaching Assistant, Conservation Biology, U of Illinois Taught and led labs, designed conservation genetics lab on bumble bees using genetic data from my dissertation research, improved lab design, graded homework and exams. Teacher Ranked as Excellent, Spring 2015 08/2014 – 12/2014 Teaching Assistant, Honors Ecology and Evolution, U of Illinois Taught and led introductory statistics lab, helped students design and conduct independent field research projects, improved lab design, graded homework and lab reports. Teacher Ranked as Excellent, Fall 2014 01/2014 – 05/2014 Teaching Assistant, Insects and People, U of Illinois Taught and led lecture/lab, helped to convert labs to in-lecture laboratory activities, helped to create new laboratory activities, gave guest lectures. 08/2013 – 12/2013 Teaching Assistant, Genetics, U of Illinois Taught and led lab, improved lab design, graded homework and lab reports. 08/2012 – 12/2012 Laboratory Coordinator, Animal Biology, U of Illinois Guided and supervised other Animal Biology teaching assistants, organized labs and lab quizzes, managed lab prep staff, improved lab design. 01/2011 – 05/2011 Teaching Assistant, Insects and People, U of Illinois 01/2010 – 05/2010 Taught lab, improved lab design. Teacher Ranked as Excellent, Spring 2010, Spring 2011 08/2010 – 12/2010 Teaching Assistant, Animal Biology, U of Illinois 08/2008 – 12/2008 Taught lab, improved lab design. Teacher Ranked as Excellent, Fall 2008, Fall 2010 Invited Guest Lectures 10/2016 Lecture on insect sociality for Insect Behavior at U of California, Riverside 04/2015 Lecture on insects and music for Insects & People at U of Illinois 02/2015 Lecture on insect sociality for Insects & People at U of Illinois 10/2014 Lecture on dissertation research for Honors Ecology & Evolution at U of Illinois 04/2013 Lecture on insects and music for Insects & People at U of Illinois 04/2012 Lecture on insects and music for Insects & People at U of Illinois 04/2011 Lecture on insects and music for Insects & People at U of Illinois 11/2010 Lecture on phylogenetic methods for Evolution at Mount St. Joseph U 04/2010 Lecture on insects and music for Insects & People at U of Illinois Mentoring 01/2019 – present Research Advisor, Biology Capstone Junior/Senior Research Program, Saint Vincent College 06/2016 – 08/2016 Undergraduate Mentor, Research Experiences in Integrated Computational Entomology, U of California Riverside Mentored Mauricio Flores and Natalie Fischer as they conducted a research project on transcriptomic signatures of nutrition in bumble bee queens. Trained them in RNAseq transcriptomic data analysis and interpretation as well as how to conduct carbohydrate, protein, and lipid quantification assays on bumble bees subjected to different diet treatments. 02/2013 – 05/2015 Undergraduate Mentor, Distinction Research Project, U of Illinois Supervised Christopher Petranek, an undergraduate student conducting an independent research project in the Cameron Lab to graduate with Distinction from the School of Integrative Biology. Mentored Mr. Petranek through a research project exploring how bumble bee wing shape (morphometrics) changes in response to elevation and environmental gradients. Brought Mr. Petranek on a collecting trip to Mexico to serve as a field and lab assistant. 08/2012 – 12/2012 Undergraduate Mentor, Introduction to Research, U of Illinois Taught three undergraduates, Jacob Kacmar, Kelly Mehan and Brett Nelson, basic genetic laboratory techniques and guided them through an independent research project on the phylogenetic placement of the recently rediscovered bumble bee, Bombus cockerelli, in the Cameron lab. 01/2012 – 05/2012 Undergraduate Mentor, Introduction to Research, U of Illinois Taught two undergraduates, Sylvia Nunez and Rebecca Trapp, basic genetic laboratory techniques and guided them through an independent research project on genetic and morphological differentiation in a newly discovered group of bumble bees in the Bombus ephippiatus complex in the Cameron lab. Community Teaching 06/2019 Trip Planner/Leader, Atlas Obscura: Science in the Field: Tracking Wild Bumble Bees in the Sierra Nevada Planned and co-lead an ecotourism trip for the travel website, Atlas Obscura, in Sequoia National Park. Taught participants how to sample for bumble bees and identify bees to species in the field. 2 11/2017 Instructor, Conservation Genetics of Bees, XI Congreso Mesoamericano sobre Abejas Nativas in Chiapas, MEX 05/2015 – 12/2015 Docent/Instructor, The Pollinatarium, U of Illinois 05/2014 – 09/2014 Taught 2nd grade classes in the Champaign Unit 4 Schools about honey bee biology and conservation during their field trips to the Pollinatarium. Served as a docent and program assistant for the Pollinatarium, a museum dedicated to pollination at U of I. Guided weekend visitors through the museum, traveled to give presentations on pollinators for conservation conferences and workshops, served as an instructor for an Illinois Pollinators workshop for science and conservation educators that was sponsored by the U of I Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Education. 09/2013 Instructor, The Pollinatarium, U of Illinois Taught 2nd grade classes in the Champaign Unit 4 Schools about honey bee biology and conservation during their field trips to the Pollinatarium. Research 10/2016 – 08/2018 USDA NIFA AFRI ELI Postdoctoral Fellow, U of California, Riverside Project: Understanding and mitigating the effects of agricultural intensification on our most economically important native pollinator. Project Director: Michelle Duennes Advisor: S. Hollis Woodard 01/2016 – 10/2016 Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Entomology, U of California, Riverside Project 1: Transcriptomic and metabolic signatures of pollen and nectar nutritional quality in queen bumble bees. Project 2: Genetic mechanisms controlling caste determination in the bumble bee Bombus impatiens. Project 3: Assessing conservation threats to Arctic bumble bees by surveying parasite prevalence across species and regions. Principle Investigator: S. Hollis Woodard 12/2012 – 08/2013 Research Assistant, Department of Entomology, U of Illinois Project: Causal factors in bumble bee decline: testing the role of bacterial symbionts in bumble bee pathogen resistance. Principle Investigator: Sydney Cameron 08/2011 – 08/2012 Research Assistant, Department of Entomology, U of Illinois Project: The infection of Nosema bombi in bumble bees in the United States. Principle Investigator: Sydney Cameron 05/2011 – 08/2011 Research Assistant, Department of Entomology, U of Illinois Project: The evolution of bumble bee color patterns. Principle Investigator: Sydney Cameron 05/2010 – 08/2010 Research Assistant, Department of Entomology, U of Illinois Project: Geographical patterns of genetic divergence in the widespread Mesoamerican bumble bee Bombus ephippiatus. Principle Investigator: Sydney Cameron 01/2009 – 01/2010 Research Assistant, Department of Entomology, U of Illinois Project: The evolution of bumble bee color patterns. Principle Investigator: Sydney Cameron 05/2007 – 08/2007 Research Assistant, Mount St. Joseph University Insect Survey Project: The status of Cicindela marginipennis (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in Southeastern Indiana. Principle Investigator: Gene Kritsky. 3 01/2006 – 08/2006 Research Assistant, Wood Hudson Cancer Research Laboratory Project: Int7G24A variant of transforming growth factor-beta receptor type I and its association with invasive breast cancer. Director: Julia Carter. Honors and Awards 10/2016 – present USDA NIFA AFRI ELI Postdoctoral Fellow ($151,333) 09/2016 – 10/2018 Entomological Society of America Science Policy Fellow Spring 2016 Arctic Institute of North America Grant-in-Aid Scholarship ($1,000) 2012 – 2015 Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation Scholar ($30,000) Spring 2014 DuPont/ Ellis MacLeod Award for Outstanding Teaching in Entomology Fall 2012 U of I Graduate College Dissertation Travel Grant ($5,000) Summer 2015 U of I Department of Entomology