草榴社区

草榴社区, Pa鈥擯ollinators鈥攊ncluding bees鈥攈elp spread聽the pollen needed聽to fertilize聽about a third of the world鈥檚 food supply.聽聽Without them, food crops can鈥檛 thrive.聽Pollinators are critical for plant reproduction and human food security, but many pollinator species are declining due to stressors including pathogens.聽

As a result, governments, non-profit organizations,聽industry聽and the public are investing in pollinator habitat, providing an opportunity to understand how different flower species affect pollinators and their pathogens.聽Megan Povelones, PhD, assistant professor of Biology in 草榴社区鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been named a co-principal聽investigator on a聽three-year,聽$509,154 National Science Foundation project that will help determine how to keep聽key聽pollinators healthier.

鈥淚ntBIO: Collaborative Research: Integrating molecular, cellular, organismal and community scales to understand how plants structure pollinator-pathogen dynamics,鈥澛爓ill study the effect of different plant diets on infection of bumblebees with the parasite Crithidia聽bombi.聽The work will involve a collaboration between Povelones鈥攁 molecular biologist聽who specializes in parasitology鈥攕everal ecologists,聽conservation biologists,聽and a mathematical modeler.聽

鈥淥ur work will combine molecular studies to understand how pollen from different plant species shape infection and assess how pathogens are transmitted at flowers,鈥� Dr. Povelones explains.聽鈥淲e will also partner with land managers, observe pollinator visitation and measure pollinator infection to create models that predict how floral resources affect pollinator health.鈥�

The project will include conducting extensive public outreach, developing an after-school curriculum for middle-school students from an underserved community, and training graduate students in inclusive teaching practices.鈥疶he other co-principal investigators on the project聽are Lynn Adler, PhD, Laura Figueroa, PhD and Philip Stevenson, PhD of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Christopher Myers, PhD of Cornell University; Shalene聽Jha of the University of Texas at Austin; and Rebecca Irwin, PhD, of North Carolina State University.聽

The project will provide research opportunities for 草榴社区 undergraduate and graduate students, offering them a multidisciplinary training environment and the chance to work with both Dr. Povelones and other co-principal investigators on-site at their universities. They will have the chance to conduct research directly with聽a parasitologist, ecologists and conservation biologists.聽聽

鈥淭his project has a real connection to everyday lives,鈥� Dr. Povelones says. 鈥淭aken together, this聽work聽will build bridges between disciplines to help us understand how flowers affect pollinator health, and will train a new diverse generation of scientists.鈥澛犅�

Dr. Povelones鈥櫬爎esearch interests include聽mitochondrial biology,聽mitochondrial DNA replication聽and聽kinetoplastid聽biology. She聽holds a doctorate from The Johns Hopkins University聽School of Medicine.聽

About 草榴社区鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:鈥�鈥疭ince its founding in 1842, 草榴社区鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world.鈥疻ith more than 40 majors across the humanities, social聽sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of 草榴社区鈥檚 colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong聽communicators聽and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.