Meet The UPMC Team
Dr. Vernard Lewis - Center Team Leader
Vernard inspecting a crawl space at a field site.
Vernard Lewis is a Cooperative Extension Specialist in Insect Biology at UC Berkeley, where he received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Entomology. He joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1990 and specializes in structural insect pests and outreach to the public including k-12 students. He has authored and co-authored more than 100 scientific publications and trade magazine articles and given hundreds of professional and educational presentations.
His current research interests involve developing improved methods of termite detection and nonchemical methods of control. Dr. Lewis has membership in numerous professional societies, including being the acting chair for the United Nations expert termite group. His other achievements include launching the CityBugs webpage.
Gail Getty - Researcher, Industry Liaison and Fund Raiser
Gail speaking at a NPMA Bed Bug Symposium.
Gail has over 16 years of experience as a University staff research associate conducting lab and field investigations on social insect biology, ecology, chemical ecology and behavior. She has given more than 100 research and outreach presentations at venues such as: San Francisco Butterfly Discovery Museum, Forestry Delegation for the Peoples’ Republic of China, the International Conference on Urban Pests at the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague, Francis Ford Coppola film, National Conference on Urban Entomology, Structural Pest Research and Education Center at the UC Berkeley, Dow AgroSciences, B&G Chemical Company, Target Specialty Products, VOPAK Specialty Products, Entomology Club of California, and the USDA-Forest Service. She also has over 20 scientific publications; 8 as lead author on termite biology. Gail leads and coordinates lab funding efforts, having procured over $1.5 million over sixteen years for lab research and outreach activities.
Contact Info
- email: ggetty@berkeley.edu
- work: (415)717-3880
Robin Tabuchi - Lab Manager
Robin showing termites to junior high students.
Robin graduated with a B.S. in Entomology from UC Davis in 2002. After graduating, she worked for Dr. Michael Haverty at the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. In 2006, she started working for UC Berkeley at the Richmond Field Station in the lab of Dr. Vernard Lewis.
As a Lab Manager, Robin studies the behavioral ecology of subterranean termites and tests the efficacy of baits for subterranean termite control. She also evaluates drywood termite detection devices to find improved methods for locating and treating drywood termites. Robin assumed the role of lab manager shortly after hire in Dr. Lewis’s lab and now supervises student workers, maintains computer and lab equipment, and provides training to both staff and pest management professionals.
Contact Info
- email: rtabuchi@berkeley.edu
- work: (510)665-3661
- fax: (510)665-3427
Sara Moore - Staff Research Assistant
Sara using the microwave to detect drywood termites.
Sara graduated from UC Berkeley in December 2007 with a degree in Molecular Environmental Biology, emphasizing in biodiversity. She studied molecular approaches to environmental problem solving. She began working in the Lewis Lab in June of 2006 as a student, and now works as a research assistant.
She studies the ecology and behavior of termites, as well as effective methods of detection and control in the lab. Her duties in the lab are varied. She evaluates x-ray, microwave, and infrared technologies for termite detection. She is in charge of executing protocol objectives: installing and checking protocols, data collection and maintenance, and preliminary data and statistical analysis.
Contact Info
- email: saramoore@berkeley.edu
Michael Haverty - Visiting Researcher
Mike lecturing in Chile.
Dr. Haverty serves the UC Berkeley UPMC as a resident mentor and editor to the laboratory staff. He and Dr. Lewis have been research and education collaborators for nearly 20 years. Together they have served as co-principal investigators on nine grants and cooperative agreements generating over $650,000. They have co-authored 19 publications thus far.
Dr. Haverty received his B.S. in zoology from UC Davis and his M.S. and Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Arizona. From 1975 until 2005 he was a research entomologist and project leader with the USDA Forest Service. After his retirement he continued working as an emeritus scientist with the Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service in Albany, CA. In addition he holds a courtesy position of Visiting Researcher in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management in the Division of Organisms and the Environment at UC Berkeley. Recently he was appointed as an Adjunct Scientist in the Department of Entomology at the University of Arizona. His specialty is the biology, ecology, behavior, chemical taxonomy, and control of termites. He has authored over 140 scientific papers on termites and forest insects and given over 150 presentations at scientific meetings, as well as professional training sessions.
His current research interests involve the diversity of termites in North America and Hawaii, biology and ecology of subterranean termites, and evaluation of bait technology as a means of controlling subterranean termites and protecting wooden structures. Dr. Haverty served as the instructor for a structural pest control course, “Wood-destroying Pests and Organisms: Prevention, Control, Repairs and Corrections,” for Independent Study, University of California Extension from 1981-1995. He was the organizer of the William L. and Ruth D. Nutting Graduate Research Award for Basic Research in Termite Biology under the auspices of the North American Section of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects, and chairs the selection committee. He is one of the founding members of the United Nations-sponsored Global Termite Expert Group. He is using his 40 years of post-graduate experience as a consultant and expert witness for issues involving wood-destroying insects, especially termites, in the Pacific Southwest region of North America.
Contact Info
- email: mhaverty@berkeley.edu
- work: (510)665-3647
- fax: (510)665-3427
- website: http://mikehaverty.com/
Lori Nelson - Biological Science Technician
Lori running hydrocarbon samples in the lab.
Lori is a technician for the USDA Forest Service, researching the chemical ecology of forest insects. She graduated from the UC Berkeley with a BS in Bioresource Sciences. She has worked with Dr. Michael Haverty for many years, studying chemotaxonomy and ecology of termites, bark beetles and other forest and urban insect pests. She conducts chemical analysis of insect and plant-produced compounds using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, providing insight into the interrelationships of forest ecosystems.
Contact Info
- email: lnelson@fs.fed.us
- work: (510)665-3426
- fax: (510)665-3427
Lynette Yang - Recent Graduate
Vernard and Lynette after her graduation ceremony.
Lynette graduated in May 2009 from UC Berkeley, completing a double B.S. in Society & Environment and Conservation & Resource Studies, with an emphasis on pest management policy. She currently has an internship with Dow AgroSciences doing field research on green/soft herbicides, which is completely different from anything she has studied or worked on before. Lynette is the recipient of the 2008 and 2009 PCOC Scholarship, which enabled her to complete her senior thesis during the Fall 2008 semester. Her thesis was entitled, “Examining the Delay of the Implementation of the Global Termite Project.” She also received the Herbert C. Sampert Memorial Prize in 2008 from the College of Natural Resources (UC Berkeley) for her work and involvement with the Lewis Lab since the summer of 2006 as a student research assistant.
Her “regular” work at the lab entailed various field work and data collection, as well as planning and coordinating K-12 outreach events such as CalDay. In recent years, she has been taking care of the logistics to help get the UPMC up and running, and has been most instrumental in working behind the scenes for the annual UPMC Golf Tournament. Though no longer with the lab in full force, Lynette drops by once in a while and volunteers her time for the UPMC.
Shawn Leighton - Student Research Assistant
Shawn setting up the x-ray device.
Shawn graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 2009 with a B.A. in Physics and a B.S. in Chemistry. He joined the Lewis Lab in June 2007. Shawn has applied his technical expertise in setting up and maintaining the 7-Channel Acoustic Emissions device, which records termite data from up to 7 sensors continuously. It had completed recording a full year of data in May 2009. He has expanded and maintained the UPMC website with the help of Andrew Kenmore. Shawn is also a recipient of the 2008 PCOC Scholarship.
James Suchy - Student Research Assistant
James sorting bed bugs in the lab.
James is currently in his senior year at UC Berkeley, completing a degree in Public Health. Before joining the Lewis Lab, James worked at the California Department of Public Health as a research assistant and West Nile virus phone operator. In the summer of 2009, James joined the lab after acquiring funding from the Haas Scholars Program to pursue an independent study on bed bugs.
His project involves the use of time-lapse cameras to track the spatial distribution of bed bugs in response to environmental stimulation. James plans to combine his field and lab work into a senior honors thesis. By better understanding aspects of bed bug ecology and dispersal behavior, James hopes to help improve bed bug control strategies.
