Fairfax, VA – June 21, 2023 – The Pest Management Foundation Scholarship Program has announced the recipients of its 2022-2023 Student Scholarships. These scholarships were awarded to five outstanding students at accredited entomology programs at U.S. colleges or universities in the amount of $2,000 each.

This year’s recipients are:

• Madison Gits, University of Florida
• Christopher Hayes, North Carolina State University
• Jun-Yin Lum, University of California Riverside
• Simona Principato, University of Kentucky
• Jin-Jia Yu, Rutgers University

To be eligible for scholarship consideration, applicants needed to be currently enrolled undergraduate (junior or senior year), or graduate students majoring in entomology and focused on urban pest management are eligible. They also had to have completed at least two semesters of study with at least one year remaining before graduation. Applicants also had to be full time students in good academic standing (3.0 GPA or better on 4.0 scale). Only one scholarship is awarded per college or university each year.

For more information on the Pest Management Foundation’s Student Scholarships, visit www.npmapestworld.org/studentscholarship.

Full details on each recipient accompany this release.

###

About the Pest Management Foundation?

The Pest Management Foundation’s mission and purpose is to advance the pest management industry through education, research, and training. The Pest Management Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization affiliated with the National Pest Management Association, the industry's only national trade group. The Foundation has been in existence for more than 30 years and was originally named the Buettner Pest Control Foundation in honor of William O. Buettner, NPMA’s first President and Executive Vice President. In recent years, a new fund has been established honoring Norman Goldenberg for his years of service to the industry. Visit NPMAFoundation.org for more information.

---

MADISON GITS

UNIVERSITY: University of Florida

Madison Gits is from La Porte, Indiana. She received her bachelor's degrees in Animal Behavior and Biology from Indiana University and her master's degree in Entomology from Purdue University. She is currently an Entomology PhD student at the University of Florida co-advised by Dr. Michael Scharf and Dr. Faith Oi. She is interested in studying insecticide resistance in German cockroaches and how to transfer knowledge to stakeholders.

 

CHRISTOPHER HAYES

University: North Carolina State University

I am a PhD candidate at NC State University in the field of urban entomology and am investigating how malaria control tools may drive the evolution of pyrethroid resistance in bed bugs. I am particularly interested in how long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs), as well as commonly used repellent products affect bed bug host-seeking behavior. I regularly co-teach workshops on a variety of pests to pest control professionals from around NC and the surrounding states in association with the NCSU Structural Pest Management Training & Research Facility. Outside the university, I have taught over 1500 members of my community about the importance of urban pest management, served as an NPMA intern, and am a member of the Pi Chi Omega fraternity.

 

JUN-YIN LUM

UNIVERSITY: University of California Riverside

Jun-Yin's research focuses on the German cockroach, a significant urban pest commonly found within households. Using a combination of toxicology and population genetics, Jun-Yin studies how insecticide resistance can be inherited in these insects. By improving our understanding of insecticide resistance, we hope to develop better methods of controlling these cockroaches, which are rapidly evolving to become "unkillable".

 

SIMONA PRINCIPATO

UNIVERSITY: University of Kentucky

Simona Principato is a PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky. She is currently working with bed bugs in the Urban Entomology lab with Dr. DeVries. She completed her B.S. in Biotechnology at the Universita’ degli Studi di Perugia (Italy) and her M.S. in Entomology at Harper Adams University (United Kingdom). Her work focuses on understanding the distribution of histamine excreted in the feces of common urban pests and the possible health relevance of bed bug- derived histamine, mitigation strategies and bed bug control. As she continues with her studies, she strives to acquire a wide knowledge, research expertise, laboratory techniques and skills to support the pest management industry in efficiently tackling the continuous challenges of urban pests.

 

JIN-JIA YU

UNIVERSITY: Rutgers University

Jin-Jia Yu is a second year Ph.D. student in the department of entomology at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. He obtained bachelor’s and master’s degree in entomology from National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan in 2017 and 2020, respectively. He works with Dr. Changlu Wang in urban entomology. His research focuses on insecticide resistance of bed bugs and ectoparasites carried by house mice. Currently, he is studying the mechanisms causing high pyrethroid resistance in field-collected bed bugs. He published three peer-reviewed journal articles from his previous and current research. Apart from doing scientific research in the lab, he also likes outdoor activities and desire to breathe the fresh air from nature during weekends. His career goal is to work as a scientist developing new solutions to urban pest management.