Lab Personnel
Emily McDermott
Principle Investigator
BS. Entomology, The Ohio State University (2012)
PhD. Entomology, University of California, Riverside (2016)
Originally from Cape Cod, MA, Emily received her BS in entomology from The Ohio State University in 2012 and completed her dissertation on Culicoides biting midges and bluetongue virus at the University of California, Riverside in 2016. She was awarded a National Research Council Fellowship to conduct her postdoctoral work on Zika and Dengue virus co-infections in Aedes mosquitoes at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Arkansas, Emily served as the Senior Scientist of the Vector Control Department, Entomology Branch at WRAIR.
Blythe E. Bunkers
PhD Candidate
MS. Cell & Molecular Biology, The University of Arkansas (2020)
BS. Biology, The University of Arkansas (2018)
AS. Biology, Scottsdale Community College (2013)
Prior to obtaining her MS in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Arkansas, Blythe began her career in health care where she worked in the operating room under her nursing assistant license while completing her BS in Biology. Blythe completed her master’s thesis on a specific virulence factor of Clostridium difficile, as her interests lie in infectious disease dynamics. She then served the Cherokee Nation by preforming environmental Covid-19 testing as part of a public health initiative during the pandemic. She is now a PhD student focused on investigating novel pesticide treatments, vector control, and host-pathogen interactions.
Cassandra Steele
PhD Candidate
BS. Zoology, University of Maine (2019)
Cassie grew up in Maine and attended the University of Maine, just north of her hometown, for a BS in Zoology. As an undergraduate student, she worked in a medical entomology lab trapping mosquitoes in residential neighborhoods in Bangor, Maine, and comparing the effects of mosquito development in native versus invasive plant habitats. She presented her work at the University of Maine symposium. Following graduation, she worked in the Bahamas for a month collecting mosquitoes on the island of Eleuthera, and when she returned to the states, began working in a vector control lab at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) in Maryland. There, she conducted mosquito surveillance and toxicity studies. At the University of Arkansas, she is interested in surveying the Culicoides population in the state and testing them for hemorrhagic diseases.
Cameron Osborne
Postdoctoral Researcher
BS. Biological Sciences. University of California, Davis (2013)
MS. Biology. California State University, Fresno (2018)
PhD. Entomology. Kansas State University (2023)
Cameron was born and raised in Fresno, California and grew up with a love for animals and bugs. He was pre-vet during his time at UC Davis and began research on Culicoides biting midges while finishing his BS. For his MS, Cameron studied elusive soft-ticks and their associated Borrelia pathogens around his home town. Cameron’s PhD project brought him back to Culicoides with a focus on developing molecular-based (RNAi) insecticides against larval midges. Cameron’s primary research areas include arthropod and pathogen surveillance and developing control methods to protect animal and human welfare.
Anna Grace Deakins
Research Technician
BS. Biochemistry. University of Arkansas, Fort Smith (2019)
Anna Grace holds a biochemistry degree from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Previously in Oklahoma City, she worked as a lab technician specializing in identifying species of bacteria and fungi, alongside DNA collection for missing persons cases. Outside her scientific pursuits, Anna Grace enjoys reading, biking, and spending time with her family.
Mahnoor Ahsan
Program Associate
BS. Forensic Molecular Biology and Biomedical Science. University of Central Oklahoma (2023)
Mahnoor earned a dual degree in Forensic Molecular Biology and Biomedical Science from the University of Central Oklahoma. As an undergraduate she worked as a research assistant in the cell biology lab studying the effects of dandelion extract on cervical cancer cell lines. She gained hands-on work experience in the microbiology department at DNA Solutions, where she specialized in identifying unknown fungal and bacterial organisms via Sanger sequencing.
“I am driven by a passion for research and innovation and I am eager to enhance my knowledge and skills to advance scientific understanding and develop solutions to complex biological problems.”
Nicole McIlvain
Undergraduate Honors Student
Thesis title: “The prevalence of feline cytauxzoonosis in different tick species from the Northwest Arkansas and Wichita, Kansas areas”
Joshua King
Undergraduate Honors Student
Thesis title: “Plasmodium infection rates in the Anopheles mosquito collected from different rice varieties in Arkansas”
Former Students
Parker Mullins (MS, 2024)
”Interactive effects between bluetongue virus infection and insecticide exposures in Culicoides sonorensis”