Principal Investigator. I earned my B.Sc. and M.Sc. at Cairo University,  Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, and conducted postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. John Carlson at Yale University.  I was born in Giza, Egypt,  and have lived in  Sweden, Germany, and the United States.  I am also a proud husband and father of two boys. 

I am also a postdoctoral researcher in my lab. 

Qi obtained his bachelor's degree from the College of Agriculture in Shanxi province, China. He then joined the Institute of Plant Protection in Beijing city, China, where he studied the interaction between Drosophila suzukii and Drosophila melanogaster and its effect on grape sour rot. For his Ph.D., he conducted research under the supervision of Prof. Kristof De Schutter and Dr. Clauvis N.T. Taning at Ghent University, exploring insect viruses as delivery carriers for small insecticidal molecules against spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii. Qi joined our laboratory in March 2024 to develop genetic tools in D. suzukii and investigate how D. suzukii acquired a radically different egg-laying preference from closely related species, including the model organism D. melanogaster. 

 Kazi is a Master student at the University of  Bridgeport. Kazi joined the laboratory in February 2024 to investigate species-specific behaviors in D. suzukii and its relatives. 

The most cooperative animal ever on earth.

Michael from Ghana is a Seasonal Research Assistant and  a Master student at the University of  Bridgeport. 

Ananda, an undergraduate student at Hampton University,  joined the lab as a summer intern in the SCSU Plant Health Fellows program.