Ann Hajek

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Ann Hajek
Born1952 (age 71–72)
San Francisco, California, US
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields Entomology
Institutions

Ann E. Hajek is an American entomologist with a focus in insect-microbe interactions. [1] She was a professor of entomology at Cornell University from 1994 to 2024.

Contents

Early life and education

Hajek was born in San Francisco, California, in 1952. In the 1970s, she attended University of California, Davis for two years then relocated to the UC Berkeley where she studied and worked as a practicing entomologist and science writer prior to obtaining her Ph.D. in entomology in 1974. While studying at the Division of Biological Control, Hajek earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in 1980 and 1984 respectively. [2]

Career

Following graduation, Hajek moved to Ithaca, New York, where she was hired by the Boyce Thompson Institute as an insect pathologist. She remained there until 1994, when she got a position at the Department of Entomology of Cornell University. While there, Hajek worked through the ranks, obtaining associate in 2000 and full professor of entomology in 2005. During her academic career at Cornell, Hajek ran an active research program in both laboratory and field studies and led as many as 200 people. She has also taught courses at Cornell on invertebrate pathology, symbiosis, biological control, and invasion ecology and graduated as many as two M.S. and 10 Ph.D. students, and was a mentor to 14 postdocs and eight visiting scientists. [2]

From 2008 to 2011 she served as adjunct professor at Anhui Agricultural University in Hefei, China and then was a visiting and honorary Professor of Zoology at the University of Copenhagen. She also is an active member of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology and a speaker at U.S. states and 14 countries. [2]

Research

In 1999, Ann E. Hajek published her study on Entomophaga maimaiga and how it can be used to control the spread of the spongy moth (Lymantria dispar). [3]

In 2019, Prof. Hajek along with fellow scientists from Ohio State University studied spotted lanternfly which is an abundant pest known to damage grape and apple crops in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and had invaded South Korea and Japan. The species was found in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has spread to 16 neighboring states. Unfortunately, the species has few natural enemies. While studying how the insect feeds on the tree of heaven, Hajek and her team discovered an outbreak of Beauveria bassiana and Batkoa major , two species of native fungal pathogens, which appear to have potential to control the growing populations of lanternflies; Batkoa major killed lanternflies on trees while Beauveria bassiana killed those on the ground, with only a few viable egg masses produced in the fungal outbreak area. [4]

Personal life

Ann Hajek is married to James K. Liebherr, a systematic entomology professor since 1984. They have a daughter, Lisa, who is a lawyer in Seattle, Washington. Their son Jonathan is specializing in spatial analysis and works in Rochester, New York. [2]

Works

Ann Hajek is an author of at least two books and many book chapters. The books that she written are Ecology of Invertebrate Diseases and Natural Enemies [2] while the book chapters that she wrote can be found in the books Advances in Microbial Ecology (titled "Ecology of Terrestrial Fungal Entomopathogens"), [5] as well as her co-authorship with Bernard Papierok on "Chapter V-2 - Fungi: Entomophthorales" in Manual of Techniques in Insect Pathology, a 1997 publication of Academic Press [6] and "Chapter 5: Evaluating Non-target Effects of Pathogens Used for Management of Arthropods" with M.S. Goettel in Evaluating Indirect Ecological Effects of Biological Control. [7]

Honors

Related Research Articles

<i>Beauveria bassiana</i> Species of fungus

Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and acts as a parasite on various arthropod species, causing white muscardine disease; it thus belongs to the group of entomopathogenic fungi. It is used as a biological insecticide to control a number of pests, including termites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids and various beetles. Its use in the control of bedbugs and malaria-transmitting mosquitos is under investigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entomopathogenic fungus</span> Fungus that can act as a parasite of insects

An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that can kill or seriously disable insects.

<i>Orgyia leucostigma</i> Species of moth

Orgyia leucostigma, the white-marked tussock moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797. The caterpillar is very common especially in late summer in eastern North America, extending as far west as Texas, California, and Alberta.

<i>Beauveria</i> Genus of fungi

Beauveria is a genus of asexually-reproducing fungi allied with the ascomycete family Cordycipitaceae. Its several species are typically insect pathogens. The sexual states (teleomorphs) of Beauveria species, where known, are species of Cordyceps.

Raymond J. St. Leger is an American mycologist, entomologist, molecular biologist and biotechnologist who currently holds the rank of Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland, College Park.

<i>Entomophthora</i> Genus of fungi

Entomophthora is a fungal genus in the family Entomophthoraceae. Species in this genus are parasitic on flies and other two-winged insects. The genus was circumscribed by German physician Johann Baptist Georg Wolfgang Fresenius (1808–1866) in 1856.

<i>Entomophthora muscae</i> Type of pathogenic fungus

Entomophthora muscae is a species of pathogenic fungus in the order Entomophthorales which causes a fatal disease in flies. It can cause epizootic outbreaks of disease in houseflies and has been investigated as a potential biological control agent.

Forest pathology is the research of both biotic and abiotic maladies affecting the health of a forest ecosystem, primarily fungal pathogens and their insect vectors. It is a subfield of forestry and plant pathology.

<i>Entomophaga maimaiga</i> Species of fungus

Entomophaga maimaiga is a Japanese fungus which has shown striking success in managing spongy moth populations in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muscardine</span> Fungal disease of insects

Muscardine is a disease of insects. It is caused by many species of entomopathogenic fungus. Many muscardines are known for affecting silkworms. Muscardine may also be called calcino.

<i>Entomophaga</i> (fungus) Genus of fungi

Entomophaga is a genus of entomopathogenic fungi in the Entomophthoraceae family and also the order Entomophthorales. This has been supported by molecular phylogenetic analysis.

<i>Pandora</i> (fungus) Genus of fungi

Pandora is a genus of fungi within the order Entomophthorales of the Zygomycota. This has been supported by molecular phylogenetic analysis.

Zoophthora is a genus of fungi in the family Entomophthoraceae. Like other taxa in this family, Zoophthora species cause disease in insects and as such are considered entomopathogenic fungi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted lanternfly</span> Species of planthopper indigenous to China

The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper indigenous to parts of China and Vietnam. It has spread invasively to Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Its preferred host is tree of heaven, but it infests crops including soybean, grapes, stone fruits, and Malus spp. In its native habitat, L. delicatula populations are regulated by parasitic wasps.

Entomophaga grylli is a fungal pathogen which infects and kills grasshoppers. It is the causal agent of one of the most widespread diseases affecting grasshoppers. This is sometimes known as summit disease because infected insects climb to the upper part of a plant and grip the tip of the stem as they die; this ensures widespread dispersal of the fungal spores. The fungus is a species complex with several different pathotypes, each one of which seems to be host-specific to different subfamilies of grasshoppers. The pathogen is being investigated for its possible use in biological pest control of grasshoppers.

Donald W. Roberts was an American insect pathologist and one of the originators of that field. He was especially known for research into biological pest control of Lepidoptera by Metarhizium but also Beauveria bassiana. He was a Research Professor Emeritus in the Biology Department of Utah State University.

Batkoa major is a naturally occurring fungus.

Tarichium is a genus of fungi within the order Entomophthorales of the Zygomycota. This has been supported by molecular phylogenetic analysis.

Batkoa is a genus of fungi within the family of Entomophthoraceae and order Entomophthorales of the Zygomycota. This has been supported by molecular phylogenetic analysis.

Eryniopsis is a genus of fungi within the family of Entomophthoraceae and order Entomophthorales of the Zygomycota. This has been supported by molecular phylogenetic analysis.

References

  1. ↑ "Ann Hajek | Department of Entomology". entomology.cals.cornell.edu. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dr. Ann Hajek, ESA Fellow (2018)". Entomological Society of America. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  3. ↑ Ann E. Hajek (1999). "Pathology and Epizootiology of Entomophaga maimaiga Infections in Forest Lepidoptera". Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews . 63 (4): 814–835. doi:10.1128/MMBR.63.4.814-835.1999. PMC   98977 . PMID   10585966.
  4. ↑ Eric H. Clifton; Louela A. Castrillo; Andrii Gryganskyi; Ann E. Hajek (2019). "A pair of native fungal pathogens drives decline of a new invasive herbivore". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 116 (9): 9178–9180. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.9178C. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1903579116 . PMC   6511058 . PMID   31010927.
  5. ↑ Ann E. Hajek (June 29, 2013). Ecology of Terrestrial Fungal Entomopathogens. pp. 193–249. ISBN   978-1-4757-9074-0.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  6. ↑ Bernard Papierok; Ann E. Hajek (1997). "Chapter V-2 - Fungi: Entomophthorales". In Lawrence A. Lacey (ed.). Manual of Techniques in Insect Pathology. Biological Techniques. pp. 187–212. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-432555-5.X5000-3. ISBN   978-0-12-432555-5.
  7. ↑ E. Wajnberg; John K. Scott; Paul C. Quimby, eds. (2001). "Chapter 5: Evaluating Non-target Effects of Pathogens Used for Management of Arthropods". Evaluating Indirect Ecological Effects of Biological Control. p. 81. ISBN   978-0-85199-453-6.
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