Erika Machtinger, PhD, CWB®
Principal Investigator
Certified Wildlife Biologist® 2016
Ph.D., Entomology 2015
University of Florida
M.S., Entomology 2011
University of Florida
B.S., Wildlife Conservation and Ecology 2005
University of Delaware
My interest in entomology came from the heavy influence of entomology courses in the wildlife conservation program at the University of Delaware. It was during my undergraduate coursework that I realized how interesting and exciting entomology was as a field.
My interest in medical and veterinary entomology developed from my involvement in the agricultural community. Along with studying arthropods, I am also an avid equestrian. I observed a need in the equine industry for information on the use of pupal parasitoids for filth fly control on equine farms and so I was able to combine both of my interests and address important research questions regarding dispersal, monitoring, and behavior of commercially sold parasitoids. I currently have two competition horses and participate in the sports of eventing and dressage on a national level.
I employ integrated approaches to pest management whenever possible, and I am particularly interested in behavioral ecology and competition. I believe that an increased understanding of behavior and environmental interactions can lead to novel control methods, and increase the efficacy of current methods. My focus is on vectors of zoonotic diseases, but I have an interest in all arthropod pests affecting wildlife and domestic animals.
Current Lab Members
Valeria Lee
PhD Student - Entomology (2023-2028)
Project: Improving bed bug control in poultry facilities in Pennsylvania
Valeria graduated from Canisius University with a major in Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Her love for entomology led her to pursue further studies at Penn State, where she is studying pest management and parasite-host interactions.
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/Valeria-Lee-2320b4277
See Valeria’s CV here
Gabriella Proleika
MSc Student - Ecology (2024-2026)
Project: Evaluating the efficacy of tick tubes on blacklegged tick populations.
Since joining the lab in 2023, she has actively contributed to research on arthropod pests of animals, vectors, and vector-borne diseases, specifically focusing on tick ecology. She is investigating the role of community dynamics on tick distribution and evaluating tick management methods.
Previous role - Research Assistant (2023- 2024)
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/gabriella-proleika-18b616228
Instagram: @gabby_pro
Mia Esoldo
MSc Student - Entomology (2024-2026)
Project: Competitive interactions of native tick species on white-footed mice
Mia graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BSc in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. She joined the lab in September 2021 and managed several research projects before starting her MSc in entomology.
Previous role - Research Technologist (2022- 2024)
Twitter: @earthfrommia
Instagram: @earthfrommia
See Mia’s CV here
Paige Alexander
PhD Student (2024-2029)
Project: Investigating the immune response of white-tailed deer to native tick infestations.
xxx
Lab grads
Post-doctoral Scholars & PhD Students
Karen Poh - Post-doc Scholar (2019-2022)
Karen is originally from Texas and recently graduated with her PhD in Entomology from Texas A&M University. She combines her knowledge of entomology with public health to study the ecology of vector-borne diseases. Her dissertation focused on the spatial epidemiology of West Nile Virus transmission dynamics in Texas to identify patterns between the landscape, climate, and demographic factors on WNV activity in Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. Karen is also familiar with mosquito and tick field work/rearing, small and medium mammal sampling, avian sampling, and molecular work. Karen will be modeling habitats and looking at the spatial distribution of tick species and their associated diseases found in Pennsylvania. Karen is a Research Entomologist at the USDA, ARS.
Go to Karen’s website here Twitter: @areyoukeddingme
Hannah Tiffin - Post-doctoral Scholar - 2023-2024
Project: Improving monitoring for bed bugs in poultry facilities.
Hannah received her PhD from Penn State in the spring of 2022. She did a 1-year post-doc at the USDA in Beltsville Maryland. She returned to Penn State to complete a bed bug monitoring project. Hannah will begin as an Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Kentucky in 2024.
Twitter: @bearly_famous
Hannah Greenberg, PhD - Entomology- (2018-2022)
Project: The ecology of mange in black bears in Pennsylvania
Hannah hails from Pennsylvania and has a MSc in Environmental Toxicology from Texas Tech University. She has worked extensively with zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. Hannah led the black bear project at Penn State and learned more about the ecology of mange in black bears.
See Hannah’s CV here
Go to Hannah’s website here
Twitter: @bearly_famous
Jessica Brown - PhD Student - Ecology (2019-2024)
Project: Evaluation of tick distribution and host-selection of blacklegged ticks on small mammals in Pennsylvania.
Jessica graduated with an Bsc in Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Penn State. Her extensive research experience had her asking questions about tick distribution on small mammals. She is interested in parasitology and the impact of parasites on wildlife.
See Jessica’s CV here
Twitter: @mice_mice_baby
Lab grads
Master’s Students
Jesse Evans - MSc Student - Entomology (2021-2023)
Project: The effect of landscape change and stress on tick feeding success on small mammal hosts. Jesse has a background in wildlife ecology and joined the lab in the summer of 2019. He is critical to many of our projects including field trapping, Extension workshops, and our multistate fly control project improvements. Jesse began a PhD in 2024.
See Jesse’s CV here
Twitter: @pipettualmotion
Alex Pagac - MSc - Entomology (2018-2020)
Project: Control of house flies in poultry layer houses with Beauveria bassiana
Alex hails from Florida where she worked in the UF Veterinary Entomology Laboratory. She is working on a large project trying to assist organic poultry producers with alternative pest control options. Alex began a position with the USDA, ARS CMAVE in 2021.
Lab Grads
Research Technologists
Taylor Miller - Research Technologist (2019-2021)
Taylor joined the lab in Spring 2019 to work on tick screening of natural compounds. Taylor will also be assisting with small mammal trapping, bear den checks, fly rearing, and other essential projects. Taylor began a PhD in 2021.
Facebook: @faunabytaylor Twitter: @boirdgoirl Instagram: @faunabytaylor
Arash Maleki, PhD - Research Technologist
Arash has a MSc in Agricultural Entomology from the University of Tehran in Iran and graduated from Penn State with a Ph.D. in entomology. He has has been working in diverse areas, including biological control, plant-plant and plant-insect interactions, the fate of pesticides, plant growth-promoting bacteria, and recently tick behavior. Arash is interested in testing hypotheses with ecological and physiological approaches and trained to use different methods, including gas chromatography and gene transcript analysis.
Twitter: @ArashFMaleki
See Arash’s CV here
Kylie Green - MSc Student - Entomology (2024-2026)
Project: Evaluation of northeastern host responses to Gulf Coast tick bites.
Kylie originally attended the University of Maryland as a Biochemistry major until her love for wildlife and the outdoors led he to Penn State. Kylie graduated with a degree in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and plans on using her education and experience to work in conservation research and education.
See Kylie’s CV here
Twitter: @Kylieonthetrail
Undergraduate Researchers
2023-2024
Jordan Mastalerz - Major: Vet and Biomedical Sciences
Ty Kroell - Major: Wildlife and Fisheries
Miriam Wayman - Major: Wildlife and Fisheries
Charlotte Dudis - Major: Vet and Biomedical Science
Caitlin Graham - Major: Vet and Biomedical Science
Nicholas Almeter - Major: Wildlife and Fisheries
Ashely Russo - Major: Animal Science
2022-2023
Jillian Hennock - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences - Jill is now a veterinary student at Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Julia Wasilewski - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Peighton Toale - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences - Peighton is now a veterinary student at Penn Vet
Kristian Tegge - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
McKinley Morris - Major: Wildlife and Fisheries - McKinley is a Soil Conservationist with the USDA
Zoey Cole - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences - (2021-2023) Zoey is now a veterinary student at Cornell
2021-2022
Caroline Stickler - Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences - Caroline is now a veterinary student at Penn Vet
Desmyn Moore - Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, minoring in One Health
Chloe Roberts - Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences- Chloe is now a veterinary student at Cornell.
Anna-Marie Wise - Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences - Anna is now a necropsy technician at the Animal Diagnostic Lab
2020-2021
Baxter Bierbaum - Major: Plant Sciences - Baxter is now an Assistant Scientist at PPD
Anya Watts - Major: Wildlife and Fisheries - Anna is now a field assistant with the Pennsylvania Game Commission
Olivia Ashbaugh- Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Science - Olivia is currently a veterinary student at Texas A&M
2019-2020
Chloe Roberts - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Science (see above)
Robert Cockerill - Major: Immunology and Infectious Disease - Robert got his MSc in Epidemiology from the University of Delaware and is now an Applied Public Health Informatics Fellow for the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Haylee Reisinger - Major: Biology - Haylee is currently an MSc student in Animal Science at the University of Michigan
Montana Riggs - Major: Poultry Science - Montana received her PhD from Auburn University and is now an Assistant Professor of Animal Science at Penn State.
2018-2019
Robert Cockerill - Major: Immunology and Infectious Disease
Katie Porter - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Carley Lionetto - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Jessica Brown - Major: Wildlife Science and Fisheries - Jessica is now a PhD student in Ecology in the Veterinary Entomology Laboratory
Taylor Miller - Major: Wildlife Science and Fisheries - Taylor is now a PhD Student at the University of Georgia
Robert Cockerill - Major: Immunology and Infectious Disease - Rob is now a Quality Population Health Evaluator with NC Medicaid
Carley Lionetto - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences - Carley is now a DVM with Gap Vet. She graduated from University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2024.
Montana Riggs - Major: Poultry Science - Montana received her PhD from Auburn University and is now an Assistant Professor of Animal Science at Penn State.
Haylee Reisinger - Major: Biology - Haylee is a graduate research assistant pursuing her PhD in Animal Science at Michigan State University.
Kylie Green - Major: Wildlife and Fisheries - Kylie was a research technician with the Machtinger Lab and is now pursuing her PhD in Ecology at the University of Georgia.
Chloe Roberts - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Science
2017-2018
Teddy Nguyen - Major: Immunology and Infectious Disease
Dillon Gruver - Major: Wildlife Science and Fisheries - Dillon is now a Game Warden with the Pennsylvania Game Commission
Kaila Fedele - Major: Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Liz Tuorinsky - Major: Animal Science - Liz is now a veterinary assistant
Alexis D’Souza - Major: Veterinary and Biomedial Sciences