by Nicole Gerardo
I was fortunate enough to get invited to the University of Arizona to give a talk at the Center of Insect Science along with several other former postdocs of PERT, the Center’s NIH IRACDA postdoctoral program. Other former postdocs in attendance were Alex Wilson, Luciano Matkzin, Jeff Riffell and Armin Moczek
Molly Hunter, Nicole Gerardo, Alex Wilson and Armin Moczek
. What an amazing evening of science!
Congratulations to Stephanie Chiang (now Stephanie Birnbaum), our former lab tech, for her recent marriage to Jeffrey. 
by Nicole Gerardo
This year’s Art-Science-Study-System-Secret-Santa-(and ice cream)-Social-(with)-Soup (ASSSSSSS) was a great success. Members of the Gerardo, De Roode, Hickman, Morran and labs drew names of a hat, and then each person made a gift based on their person’s study organism. I got a deck of cards with all of my lab’s insects (microbes included). Greg, an undergrad in the Gerardo lab, received some clay squash bugs — pumpkins and acorn squash with six legs. Gifts were knit, baked and painted.
Happy ASSSSSSS-mas.
Congratulations to graduate student Erica Harris for receiving a Mellon Mays Predoctoral Research Development Grant!
The Gerardo lab is sad to announce that after a three-year hold on the PBEE Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off trophy, the title of Vegetarian Chili King/Queen was handed off to Levi Morran for his “Turtle Power” chili. We are trying to determine if he included any turtle (mutant or otherwise) in his recipe, which would force him to relinquish the throne.
By Nicole Gerardo
The Gerardo Lab is providing photographs for an upcoming exhibit at Cornell University on symbiosis. Photos to be included are of the squash bug, Anasa tristis (taken by Greg Fricker) and of the gut crypt where bugs store bacteria (taken by Justine Garcia).
More information on the upcoming exhibit can be found at:
Art in Unseen Partnerships: The Beauty of Small Things
by Nicole Gerardo
Members (and former members) of the Gerardo Lab have recently published two commentaries related to symbiosis.
Ben Parker and I wrote a piece for a symbiosis-centric of issue of Current Opinions in Insect Science on the mechanisms underlying symbiont-conferred protection. While focusing on systems in which insects are protected by microbes against pathogens and parasites and systems in which insects are less able to vector pathogens and parasites when the vectors harbor particular symbionts, the principles apply to non-insect systems as well. From an ecological perspective, symbiont-conferred protection is akin to forms of direct competition. Symbionts can directly harm the invader through production of toxins, may compete with the invader for resources, or may alter the host immune systems such that it hampers the persistence of the invader.
Justine Garcia developed a review piece that she originally wrote as part of her graduate qualifying exam onto a commentary on the need to consider the ecological and evolutionary underpinnings of symbiosis from the perspective of the symbiont. What are the costs and benefits of host association for the symbiont? This is particularly informative for environmentally acquired symbionts where the microbes can persist in non-host environments. The articles is available in Frontiers in Microbiology.
by Nicole Gerardo
Last week, I had the opportunity to see Alice Laughton (former postdoc in the lab) and Ben Parker (former grad student) at the European Congress of Entomology in York, England. Yes, it was good to catch up. Yes, it was great to see the development of their scientific pursuits. But, really, the best part was scones and tea with two friends. Alice, sorry to put the butter or before the jam. I will get it right next time (maybe).
Ben is now an NSF-funded postdoc in Charles Godfray’s group at Oxford.
Alice is a postdoc in Rob Knell’s group at Queen Mary University of London.
by Nicole Gerardo
78 brave souls, including two of our own, volunteered to have their Evolution talks video recorded. All the talks are available at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq2cZF2DnfvIUVg4tyRH5Ng
Check out talks by Nelle Couret and Jen Kovacs (former postdoc, now at Spelman).
by Nicole Gerardo
This week, we did not have the traditional lab meeting. Rather than discussing a paper or critiquing a practice talk, we instead each talked about or demonstrated something that we enjoyed doing outside of the lab. These included singing, going to the movies, photography, baking, knitting and reading. Oh, and taking care of two pet rats. Some are talents. Some are escapes. Some are both. What is clear is that I am fortunate to be surrounded by interesting, engaged people.