Curriculum Vitae

PhD, Entomology, University of Idaho (2014)
MS, Ecology, University of Rhode Island (2009)
BS, Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2006)

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Samantha (Sam) Willden studies the ecology and management of agricultural pests with an emphasis on biological control. Solving pest management challenges and supporting growers in their business is a key driver of Samantha’s research and extension efforts. At Cornell University, her PhD research was focused on protected culture strawberry where she developed practical approaches to management of two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) and tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris) that interleave into an IPM framework for this new system in New York. She joined the Ingwell lab as a postdoctoral researcher in 2022 with an interest in developing a systems-level approach to crop production and pest management on urban farms.

Curriculum Vitae

Leslie Alejandra Aviles Lopez is originally from El Salvador, Central America. She received her undergraduate degree in agronomy at the Pan American Agricultural University in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Leslie joined the lab in fall 2020 after completing her master's degree at Louisiana State University where she studied the host range of the invasive scale Nipponaclerda biwakoensis and host plant resistance among Phragmites australis populations. In her current position, she will evaluate best management practices for the two-spotted spider mite in high tunnel cucumber production systems, from cultivar selection to scouting and biological control tactics.