ERIN INGRAM

Science outreach and research

Education

Ph.D.

Entomology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Anticipated graduation May 2017

M.S.

Entomology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Graduated December 2013

B.S.

Elementary Education, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Graduated with High Distinction December 2004

Relevant Work Experience

January 2014
- Present

Science Literacy and Outreach Coordinator (Doctoral Assistantship)

Department of Entomology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Coordinate, facilitate planning, and implement formal and informal entomology education programming
  • Contribute to discussion and decisions regarding program development and budget expenditures through departmental Science Literacy Committee
  • Develop entomology lesson plans based on Next Generation and Nebraska Science Standards for primary and secondary education classrooms
  • Maintain database of departmental outreach and recruitment events
  • Constructed and implemented survey to assess departmental recruitment efforts and gather undergraduate feedback of Insect Science and Applied Science degree programs
  • Partnered with local high school biology teachers through UNL’s National Center for Agricultural Literacy to develop biology lesson plans incorporating pollinators into instruction
  • Assist the general public with honey bee-related questions and concerns
January 2014
– Present

Graduate Research Assistant (Doctoral)

Department of Entomology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Design and implement entomology-based education research under the supervision of Dr. Doug Golick
  • Surveyed and interviewed high school biology teachers about incorporation of insects into biology instruction
  • Recruit Nebraska high school biology teachers to for participate in case studies of entomology-based instruction
August 2011
– December 2013

Graduate Research Assistant (Masters)

Department of Entomology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Developed and implemented honey bee toxicology research under the supervision of Drs. Marion Ellis and Blair Siegfried
  • Tested toxicity of pyrethroids via acute contact toxicity bioassays with worker honey bees
  • Tracked and analyzed honey bee behavior following sublethal pyrethroid exposure using video-tracking software (Ethovision XT, Noldus Information Technology)
  • Tested repellency of pyrethroids to honey bees using artificial feeders in a semi-field setting
  • Wrote and defended masters thesis, “Toxic and repellent effects of orchard-applied pyrethroids on the honey bee, Apis mellifera L.”
September 2010
– August 2011

Insect Toxicology Lab Technician

Department of Entomology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Assisted post-doctoral researchers and Ph.D. students in various molecular biology lab protocols including DNA and RNA extraction, protein production, purification and quantification, insect rearing and PCR procedures
  • Kept detailed log of lab techniques and daily happenings
  • Collected insect specimens in a field setting
  • Managed general lab maintenance, cleaning, and restocking

Teaching and outreach experience

Teaching Assistant

  • ENTO 109: Beekeeping, Spring semesters 2012, 2013
  • ENTO 300: Toxins in the Environment, Fall semester 2013

UNL Extension beekeeping workshops

  • Queen Rearing Workshop, Ithaca, NE, June 13-15, 2013
    • Contributing lecturer on how and why bees rear queens in nature for 22 participants
  • Beginning Beekeeping Field Day, Ithaca, NE, April 20, 2013
    • Hands-on instruction and classroom lecture covering beekeeping management practices
  • Beginning Beekeeping Workshop, Nebraska City, NE, March 16, 2013
    • Contributing lecturer on bee biology, colony life history and managing bees for honey production for 102 participants
  • Beekeeping in Afghanistan Training for National Guard Agribusiness Development Team, Nebraska City, NE, July 24, 2012
    • Contributing lecturer on getting started in beekeeping, honey bee diseases, pests, and parasites, and honey and beeswax processing for 10 National Guard service members
  • Master Beekeeping Workshop, Ithaca, NE, June 28-30, 2012
    • Contributing lecturer on identification of bees, strategies for wintering bees, pests and diseases of adult bees, and pollination biology for 67 participants
  • Beginning Beekeeping Field Day, Ithaca, NE, April 21, 2012
    • Contributing lecturer on beekeeping management practices for 65 participants
  • Beginning Beekeeping Workshop, Hastings, NE, March 10, 2012
    • Contributing lecturer on bee biology for 60 participants

Vocational beekeeping training

  • Lincoln Correctional Center beekeeping training and apiary care, Lincoln, NE, Spring, Summer, & Fall 2014, Spring 2015
  • Bees Behind Bars vocational beekeeping training, Lincoln Community Corrections, Lincoln, NE, 2013-2014
    • Initial placement of and continued care for two hives at Nebraska Department of Corrections LCC farm
    • Training of inmates and staff in getting started with bees, assembling beekeeping equipment, proper protective gear, bee biology and colony life history, hands-on experience with colony manipulation, disease
  • Bee Education Workshop, Community CROPS, Lincoln, NE, May 10, 2012

Education and Outreach Activities

  • Pioneers Park Wild Fall Festival, Lincoln, NE, October 9, 2015
  • NaturePalooza, Lincoln, NE, September 29, 2015
  • Bees on the Cather Prairie, Red Cloud, NE, September 29, 2015
  • Nebraska State Fair “Grow, Eat, Learn” Exhibit, Grand Island, NE, August 29, 2015
  • First Husker research tour of Entomology Hall, Lincoln, NE, August 19, 2015
  • Bruner Club Farmers’ Market Booth, Haymarket, Lincoln, NE, May 9, July 13, July 11, 2015
  • National Science Olympiad Exam Assistance, Lincoln, NE, May 16, 2015
  • Nebraska Science Festival at Strategic Air & Space Museum, Ashland, NE, April 16-17, 2015
  • State FFA tours of Entomology Hall, Lincoln, NE, April 8, 2015
  • Zoetis-LPS-Novartis Science Fair, Lincoln, NE, March 5, 2015
  • Kloefkorn Elementary Science Fair Exhibit, Lincoln, NE, February 26, 2015
  • Women in Science Pollinator Workshop, Lincoln, NE, February 14, 2015
  • Family Nature Night, Pershing Elementary, Lincoln, NE, January 22, 2015
  • Maxwell Arboretum Fall Festival, Lincoln, NE, October 9, 2014
  • Naturepalooza, Hardin Hall, Lincoln, NE September 30, 2014
  • Applejack Festival, Nebraska City, NE, September 20-21, 2014
  • Bruner Club Farmers’ Market Booth, Haymarket, Lincoln, NE, June 14, July 12, August 9, 2014
  • State FFA booth, East Campus Union, Lincoln, NE, April 11, 2014
  • Weatherfest, Hardin Hall, Lincoln, NE, April 5, 2014
  • LPS Science Fair booth, Lincoln, NE, March 20, 2014
  • Lincoln Children’s Museum ZooZeum Day, Lincoln, NE, February 22, 2014
  • Applejack Festival, Nebraska City, NE, September 21-22, 2013
  • Applejack Festival, Nebraska City, NE, September 15-16, 2012
  • Beekeeping Youth Education Presentation, Nature Adventure Camp, Lincoln, NE, July 17, 2012
  • “Sunday with a Scientist” Community Outreach, Morrill Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, May 20, 2012

Classroom visits

  • Hill Elementary classroom visit, Lincoln, NE, May 15, 2015
  • Hill Elementary classroom visit, Lincoln, NE, May 16, 2014
  • Bumble Boosters high school classroom outreach, Glenwood, IA, February 3, 2014

Hands-on insect collecting, pinning, and/or identification

  • Lauritzen Gardens Bee Survey, Omaha, NE, March-September 2015
  • Insect Pinning with Lincoln Parks and Rec Day Camp at Bethany Park, Lincoln, NE, July 8 & 15, 2015
  • Wachiska Audobon Society Insect Collection and ID at Dieken Prairie, Unadilla, NE, June 27, 2015
  • Pollinator Week BeeBlitz, UNL East Campus, Lincoln, NE, June 20, 2015
  • Homestead National Monument pollinator workshop, Beatrice, NE, September 27, 2014
  • Zoo School Bioblitz, Holmes Lake, Lincoln, NE, August 25, 2014
  • Pollinator education for Grand Island Roots & Shoots chapter, Wood River, NE June 20, 2014
  • Burt-Cuming Co. 4-H Day Camp, West Point, NE June 5, 2014

Pollinator presentations for the general public or specialty groups

  • AppleJack Festival Pollinator Presentation, Nebraska City, NE, September 18, 2015
  • Rotary 14 Pollinator Protection Presentation, Lincoln, NE, September 8, 2015
  • Honey bees and native bees class for OLLI, Lincoln, NE, June 11, 2015
  • Pollinator Presentation at Nebraska Herbal Society meeting, Lincoln, NE, March 28, 2015
  • Soil and Water Conservation Chapter Legislative Breakfast, Lincoln, NE, February 27, 2015
  • Nebraska Beekeepers Association Bee Funday, Seward, NE, June 22, 2014
  • Beginning Beekeeping Presentation at Pheasants Forever Pollinator Workshop, Spring Creek Prairie, June 20, 2013

Research Presentations

The Six-Legged Subject: Insect Incorporation in High School Biology Classrooms, July 2014

  • Research survey results presented at Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference, Rio Rico, Arizona.

The Six-Legged Subject: Examining Insect Incorporation in High School Biology Classrooms, June 2015

  • Research survey results presented at Entomological Society of America North Central Branch Meeting, Manhattan, Kansas.

The NU-BEE Initiative: Vocational Beekeeping Training at Lincoln Community Corrections, July 2014

  • Project development and outcomes presented at Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference, Rio Rico, Arizona.

Toxic and Repellent Effects of Pyrethroids Used in Orchards on the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), January 2013

  • Results presented American Bee Research Conference, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Video-tracking of Behavioral Effects Following Sublethal Exposure to Pyrethroids in the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae), November 2012

  • Results presented at Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Knoxville, Tennessee.

Toxic and Repellent Effects of Pyrethroids Used in Orchards on the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), February 2012

  • Proposed research presented at American Bee Research Conference, Beltsville, Maryland.

Publications

  • Ingram, E.M., Augustin, J., Ellis, M.D., & Siegfried, B.D. (2015).

    Evaluating sub-lethal effects of orchard-applied pyrethroids using video-tracking software to quantify honey bee behaviors. Chemosphere, 135, 272-277.

  • Ingram, E.M., Augustin, J., Ellis, M.D., & Siegfried, B.D. (2013).

    Using video-tracking software to quantify behavioral effects of sublethal exposure to orchard-applied pyrethroids on the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Thesis chapter.

  • Ingram, E.M., Ellis, M.D., & Siegfried, B.D. (2013).

    Evaluating repellent effects of orchard-applied pyrethroids to the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera:Apidae), under semi-field conditions. Thesis chapter.

  • Ingram, E.M., Ellis, M.D., & Siegfried, B.D. (2013).

    Assessing repellency of orchard-applied pyrethroids to the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera:Apidae), under field conditions. Thesis chapter.

Abstracts

Ingram, E.M., Ellis, M.D., & Siegfried, B.D. (2012). Toxic and repellent effects of pyrethroids used in orchards on the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Abstract. American Bee Journal, 152(4), 403.

Volunteer Experience

  • Beekeeping Volunteer, University of Nebraska, Lawrence Bruner Club, Lincoln, NE, 2011-2014
  • Honey harvest, extraction and bottling for fundraising
  • Department of Entomology Outreach, UNL President J.B. Milliken’s Staff Appreciation, August 2012
  • Science Fair Judge, Calvert Elementary School, Lincoln, NE, March 2012
  • Prairie Festival Outreach Volunteer, Spring Creek Prairie, October 2011

Involvement

University of Nebraska Graduate Student Entomology Club

  • Vice-President, 2014-2015
  • Outreach Committee, co-chair, 2014-2015
  • Outreach Committee member, 2015-2016
  • Fundraising Committee member, 2015-2016
  • Library and Education Committee, 2011-2013
  • Linnaean Games Team Member, 2012

Scholarships, Awards and Honors

  • Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees Scholarship, 2013 ($2,000)
  • Finalist in Entomological Society of America YouTube competition in Extension/Outreach category with “Pollen of Plenty” pollinator protection video, October 2012
  • “Pollen of Plenty” pollinator protection video winner at groweatlearn.unl.edu, August 2012 ($500)
  • Member of North Central Branch Entomological Society of America Linnaean Games Championship Team, June 2012 ($500)
  • Lawrence Bruner Club Swenk Travel Grant recipient, December 2011 ($250), February 2014 ($440)
  • Graduate Research Assistantship from Kimmel Orchard, August 2011
  • Dean’s List, Teacher’s College and College of Education and Human Sciences, nine semesters, 2000-2004
  • Regents Scholarship, 2000-2004
  • F. E. Davis Brainard Memorial Scholarship
  • Helen L. Sagl Scholarship
  • National Honor Society Scholarship
  • Science Club Scholarship
  • Paul Humpert Memorial Scholarship
  • Clara Chalfon Memorial Scholarship
  • Hazel Emily Memorial Scholarship
  • Education Quest Scholarship
  • Valedictorian , Franklin Public Schools, Class of 2000