Officers

Chair: Walter S. Leal

Born: 1954 │ Appointed: 2016, Elected 2022, Reelected 2024
Field: Chemical Ecology
E-mail: wsleal AT ucdavis.edu

Twitter: @wsleal2014

Bio: Walter S. Leal (USA) - born in the beautiful city of Recife, Brazil in 1954 - is Distinguished Professor at the University of California-Davis, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. He is former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. Leal received his B. Eng. in chemical engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil, M. Sc. in agricultural chemistry from Mie University, Japan, and Ph. D. in applied biochemistry from Tsukuba University, Japan. He received postgraduate training in entomology and chemical ecology at the National Institute of Sericultural and Entomological Science, Japan and Cornell University, USA, respectively. Leal distinguished himself as the first non-Japanese scientist to earn tenure in the Japan Ministry of Agriculture. Leal joined the faculty at UC Davis in 2000. Leal’s research if focused on insect chemical communication and olfaction. His laboratory discovered a mosquito receptor for the insect repellent DEET and published more than 220 peer-reviewed papers. Leal is a correspondent member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (Hon. F.R.E.S.), Honorary Member of the Entomological Society of America, and Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Entomological Society of America. He is recipient of prestigious awards from three different countries, including the Nan Yao Su Award for Innovation and Creativity in Entomology and the Silver Medal of the International Society of Chemical Ecology. Leal served (with Dr. Alvin Simmons, USDA-ARS) as co-Chair of the 2016 International Congress of Entomology. In 2019, Leal delivered the Founders' Memorial Lecture of the Entomological Society of America to honor Tom Eisner. He received the Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching, UC Davis Academic Senate, 2020, the Award for Excellence in Teaching of the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America, the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences Faculty Teaching Award, 2022, and the Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award, UC Davis Academic Senate, 2022, and the 2024 Academic Senate Distinguished Research Award. Leal is the first UC Davis faculty to received the Academic Senate awards for Teaching, Service, and Research, In 2024, Leal was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Deputy Chair: María Marta Cigliano

Born: 1959 │ Appointed: 2016, Elected 2024
Field: Taxonomy and Systematics, Orthoptera
E-mail: cigliano AT fcnym.unlp.edu.ar

Website: click here

Bio: María Marta Cigliano (Argentina) completed a Licentiate in Zoology and a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences at La Plata National University, Argentina. She received postgraduate training in Ecology at the Rangeland Insect Laboratory, Montana State University, USA. She is a Professor at La Plata National University and a Research Scientist with the Argentine National Research Council (CONICET). She has served as President of the Orthopterists' Society and Vice President of the Argentine Entomological Society. She has been a Research Scientist at Illinois Natural History Survey, USA and Invited Professor at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. She is a member of the Global Team for the Catalogue of Life, an Affiliate Researcher at the Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, USA, and the curator of the global Orthoptera Species File (OSF), an online database that serves as a comprehensive resource for taxonomic and biodiversity data on Orthoptera. She has published over 80 scientific papers and book chapters on the systematics of grasshoppers, integrating traditional taxonomy with molecular data to study evolutionary relationships, biogeography, and species diversity. Currently, her research group focuses on two key areas: macroecology of Orthopteran biodiversity, and investigations into the phase polyphenism of South American locusts (Schistocerca cancellata), including modeling the risk of gregarization and the population dynamics of these locusts.

Secretary General/ Treasurer: Angharad Gatehouse

Born: 1954 │ Appointed: 2016, Elected 2022, Reelected 2024
Field: Plant-Insect Interaction; Novel Approaches to Integrated Pest Management
E-mail: a.m.r.gatehouse AT ncl.ac.uk

Website: click here

Bio: Prof Angharad Gatehouse has the Chair of Invertebrate Molecular Biology at Newcastle University. Her research focuses on the molecular and biochemical bases of plant-pest interactions with a view to developing novel strategies for crop protection. Her group was one of the first to produce insect-resistant transgenic crops. The group are currently developing novel biopesticides, including those based on RNAi. In addition to their efficacy, they are also involved in the biosafety of these strategies, notably in terms of their potential effects on beneficial insects such as pollinators and natural enemies. The group also studies the molecular responses of crops to abiotic/biotic stress for the development of molecular markers. She has published extensively in the field, including in discovery journals (Nature, PNAS) and is named inventor on several patents. She was ranked 3rd in the world ratings for citations on work on GM crops and awarded an Honorary Doctorate for contributions to Biotechnology (Banat's University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine). In 2015 she was elected an Honorary Member of the National Italian Academy of Entomology and in 2016 she awarded the ‘Certificate of Distinction in Recognition of Outstanding Achievements in Entomology’, by the Council of the International Congress of Entomology (ICE). Currently she is Chair of External Scientific Advisory Board of Agrotecnio (Centre of Excellence for Agrifood sciences, Spain), and is a member of the International Advisory Board for The Agritech Foundation (Italy). She serves as Secretary General and Treasurer to Council of ICE.