The Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees

Six graduate students in honey bee research have been awarded scholarships by the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees and will make presentations during the American Bee Research Conference at the National Beekeeping Conference in Sacramento in January.

“With the sustaining funding available to us, the Trustees are providing the scholarships and other support to educational and kid-oriented activities. The graduate student scholarships are one of the important forward-looking programs we have made into an annual offering,” says George Hansen, chairman of the Foundation Trustees. “The Trustees’ goal is to invest in the future by encouraging by the young emerging honey bee scientists to be involved in the industry.
“The Kids and Bees program and the 4-H Beekeeping Essay Contest attempt to cause children to become interested in honey bees. We provide other incentives to kids all over the country take up beekeeping, and associations and clubs to become mentors of young beekeepers.”

	Geoff Williams Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada. M.S. Degree student, David Shutler, advisor. Mr. Williams is investigating the effects of Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae on western honey bees. His research examines both seasonal abundance and control of both species.
	Elina Niño North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. Ph.D. student, David Tarpy and Christina Grozinger, advisors. Ms. Nino ’s research investigates factors affecting the reproductive quality of honey bee queens. Her research includes behavioral, physiological and molecular approaches to evaluating queen quality.
	Jodi Swanson University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn. Ph.D. student, Marla Spivak, advisor. Ms. Swanson’s research explores the chemical cues associated with diseased brood to determine which of them elicit hygenic behavior. The goal of her work is to provide beekeepers a fast and reliable test to screen stocks and select for hygenic behavior.
	Queenie Chan University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Ph.D. student, Leonard Foster, advisor. Ms. Chan’s research examines the honey bee immune system at the molecular level, in particular its response to American foulbrood using biochemical and mass spectrometry techniques to identify proteins and protein levels in diseased larvae. She is also involved in annotating the genome of the causative agent of the disease, Paenibacillus larvae.
	Alban Maisonnasse University of Avignon, Avignon, France. Ph.D. student, Yves Le Conte, advisor. Mr. Maisonnasse’s research examines volatile compounds emitted by honey bee larvae that are involved in the communication between nurse bees and brood. He has identified 2 volatile molecules emitted by brood and is currently conducting experiments to explain their role in colony life.
	Katie Lee University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn. M.S. student, Marla Spivak, advisor. Ms. Lee’s research examines how to best sample colonies and apiaries for Varroa mites. The goal of her research is to provide a basis for good IPM practices under migratory beekeeping conditions.