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.
Parker Mullins
MS Student
BS. Animal Science, University of Arkansas (2015)
DVM, Oklahoma State University (2019)
Parker was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. With a love for animals and interest in medicine, he attended the University of Arkansas as a pre-veterinary student before moving to Oklahoma State University to complete his DVM. While in school, he worked with the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology, conducting surveillance research on Trypanosoma cruzi in Oklahoman sentinel species. He was captivated by the combination of disease science and population health, and after completing his coursework, he was commissioned as an Air Force Public Health Officer. After managing the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic at Mountain Home Air Force Base for two years, he received an Air Force research and education scholarship, and is now studying Medical Entomology at his alma mater. His research will focus on pesticides and their effects on insects of veterinary and public health importance.
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.
Drew Casey
Undergraduate Research Assistant
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 Anophele mosquito collected from different rice varieties in Arkansas”