Former Postdoctoral Research Associate 

Currently: Assistant Professor of Forest Entomology at Louisiana State University

Todd is broadly interested in the mechanisms that generate chemical diversity within plants and insects. During his post-doc at UNH he investigated how ontogeny and insect attack influence the defensive capacity of green and white ash, as well as the success of Tetrastichus planipennisi and Spathius galinae, two species of introduced biological control agents of the emerald ash borer. The outcomes of this research will inform management of the invasive emerald ash borer, particularly with respect to understanding which types of trees may be most resistant to the beetle, how beetles behave under these conditions, as well as the suitability of these trees for introduced biological control agents that attack and kill the emerald ash borer.

In the summer of 2020, Todd was interviewed in the field by local elementary school teacher, Ellen Ervin, about his postdoctoral research studying the role of tree ontogeny on interactions between the invasive emerald ash borer, its biological control agents, and host trees in New Hampshire. This interview is featured in a lesson on the emerald ash borer and how scientists develop and carry out research questions.

Todd joined the faculty at Louisiana State University in Fall 2022. Congrats, Todd!

Education

• B.S. Biology, Moravian College, 2009
• M.S. Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2013
• Ph.D. Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019