Photo caption: pumpkin carving of an aster leafhopper. 

In October 2024, I joined the Louisiana State University AgCenter (US) as a postdoctoral researcher. I will examine aspects pertaining to the transmission of aphid-vectored viruses in sweet potatoes and develop diagnostic tools for this pathosystem. 

In between obtaining my PhD and moving to Louisiana, I worked as a research technician at the Bennett Ecology Lab at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada), where I developed and optimized a digital PCR protocol for testing soil samples.

I joined the Prager Lab at the University of Saskatchewan as a graduate student and obtained my PhD in 2024. My PhD research focused on the interactions between a bacterial pathogen, plants, and an insect vector. My primary research system was the one comprising Aster Yellows phytoplasmas (Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris) and the Aster leafhopper (Macrosteles quadrilineatus). I was interested in examining and understanding several behavioral responses of this insect, including aster leafhoppers' oviposition and host choice selection behavior, and how these responses can be altered by phytoplasma infection. A brief overview of this project can be found in this presentation for the Rising Stars of Entomology showcase.

I completed my Degree in Biology (Licenciatura) from the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 2017 and then moved to Canada for graduate school. During my time at the University of Buenos Aires, I joined Dr. Jorge Zavala's lab and worked on plant-insect interactions involving soybeans and two insect pests. This line of research was aimed at exploring the chemical basis of soybean resistance to insect herbivory. 

Photo caption: aster leafhopper nymph that has just emerged from the egg.

My broad research interests include plant-insect interactions and plant-insect-pathogen interactions, particularly those involving plant species of horticultural and agricultural importance. I am most interested in factors mediating and modulating insect behavior, including plant secondary metabolites, and plant defense responses. I am also interested in how the understanding of insect behavioral responses and movement among host plants within ecosystems can be directed towards practices that manage pests in an effective and sustainable manner. By combining behavioral and transmission assays with other analyses, my goals are to contribute to our understanding of the complex interactions within horticultural and agricultural systems, and to use this knowledge to develop more efficient IPM practices for growers.