The Beeologics Technology Advisory Board is an autonomous body which
brings together top scientists and industry authorities with diverse experience
and talent. As independent leaders in their respective fields who also
care for the bee health, the beekeeping industry and science, the members
of the Technology Advisory Board act individually as the technology conscience
of the company and apply their unique collective perspective to their
role as the impartial guiding force of the Beeologics product roadmap.
 |
Professor Diana Cox-Foster
|
As a professor at Penn State University , Diana Cox-Foster focuses her teaching
on disease ecology and biology, as well as chemical ecology; and her research
on insect biochemistry and physiology, evolutionary development, molecular
biology and host/pathogen interactions.
In recent years, Professor Cox-Foster and her associates at Penn State
have focused their research efforts on honey bees. Her leading role,
and the results of these efforts, has positioned Professor Cox-Foster
as one of the most respected bee health scientists in the country and
earned her a seat on the special government work group that addresses
CCD and the bee crisis.
Her bold and uncompromising approach has led to the publication of
the famous article about Colony Collapse Disorder
(CCD) that appeared in Science Magazine in September of 2007. This
article, developed with a prestigious group of scientists after a year-long
research project, introduced significant findings associating viruses
such as IAPV and other pathogens with the CCD
phenomenon.
Under Professor Cox-Foster's leadership, her research group delivers
groundbreaking results. Work from her laboratories has exposed previously
unknown disease-transmitting mechanisms in bees through flowers, the
uniform distribution of dead bees in the greenhouse after they contracted
a disease from an IAPV infection, significant findings in insect cellular
immune defense systems and more. She has allocated special focus to
research concerning the relationship between parasitic mites and bees
and how this interaction causes the activation of infectious diseases
and is associated with CCD.
Professor Cox-Foster earned her B.S. at Colorado State University in
1979, her M.S. in 1982 and her Ph.D. in 1985, both at the University
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
[click
to hide]
 |
Jerry Hayes
|
Recognized as Florida's top bee expert, Jerry Hayes is Chief Apiary Inspector
for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In this
role, he certifies the movement of honey bee colonies throughout the state
and nation, and monitors them for diseases, honey bee pests and unwanted
species. Mr. Hayes also serves as President of the Apiary Inspectors of
America and holds various roles in the Florida Beekeeper Association.
Prior to the Florida Department of Agriculture, Mr. Hayes was Director
of New Product Development for Dadant and Sons, Inc., a family owned
business that has served the Beekeeping industry for 145 years. While
there, he began writing 'The Classroom,' a long-time column in the American
Bee Journal, which he continues to write today.
Prior to Dadant, Mr. Hayes worked at the USDA Bee Breeding and Stock
Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and also worked in the electronics and
plastics industry, where his love for bees began. He has been involved
in everything from developing plastic hive parts to registering beekeeping
treatments, and has authored and co-authored myriad apicultural research
papers.
After earning a degree in athletic administration and coaching from
the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mr. Hayes attended
and graduated from The Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster,
OH, one of the only places in the U.S. with a beekeeping curriculum.
[click
to hide]
 |
Craig C Mello, PhD
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine
Co-director, RNA Therapeutics Institute
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
|
Dr. Craig C. Mello received his B.Sc. degree in Biochemistry from Brown University in 1982, and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1990. From 1990 to 1994, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA. Dr. Mello is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine and Co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Mello’s pioneering research on RNAi, in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Fire, has been recognized with many prestigious awards culminating with the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Dr. Mello, along with his colleague, Dr. Andrew Fire, discovered the process by which a particular form of ribonucleic acid – RNA, the cellular material responsible for the transmission of genetic information – can silence targeted genes. This RNAi process offers astounding potential for understanding and manipulating the cellular basis of human and animal disease, and RNAi is now the state-of-the-art method by which scientists can “knock out” the expression of specific genes to thus define the biological functions of those genes. Just as important has been the finding that RNAi is a normal process of genetic regulation that takes place during development, opening a new window on developmental gene regulation.
[click
to hide]
 |
Dave Mendes
|
For greater than three decades, Mr. David Mendes has been operating his commercial beekeeping outfit in Florida and Massachusetts. Mr. Mendes manages more than 7,000 colonies that are partially utilized for honey production and primarily for pollination of Maine's blueberry crop, the cranberry crop in Massachusetts, almonds in California and other crops along the East coast of the United States.
Mr. Mendes serves as the president of the American Beekeeping Federation,
sits on the board of directors for Project Apis Melifera and the Foundation
for the Preservation of Honeybees, and spearheads several initiatives
involving bee health and environmental issues.
Recognized as one of the most knowledgeable and articulate beekeepers
in the industry, Mr. Mendes is frequently invited to speak in domestic
and international forums, as well as to provide the beekeepers' perspective
to government entities who are assigned to deal with the bee crisis.
The insight and experience Mr. Mendes brings to Beeologics has profound
ongoing impact on the technology, application and distribution approach
of the company. His active involvement and contribution include his
wisdom and direction as well as his commitment of equipment and bees
for the company's field and clinical trials.
[click
to hide]
 |
Professor Gene E. Robinson
|
As Swalund Chair of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
where he has been since 1989, Gene E. Robinson is also the Director of the
Neuroscience Program and a Professor of Entomology with affiliate appointments
in the Departments of Cell & Developmental Biology and Animal Biology
and the Beckman Institute of Science and Technology.
Professor Robinson's research group studies the regulation of social
behavior using the honey bee. The research is integrative, involving
perspectives from evolutionary biology, behavior, neuroscience, molecular
biology, and genomics. He has pioneered the application of genomics
to the study of social behavior, spearheaded the effort to gain approval
from NIH for the sequencing of the honey bee genome, and heads the Honey
Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium.
As the sponsor of 16 postdoctoral fellows, 20 graduate students and
70 undergraduate students, Professor Robinson's honors include: University
Scholar of the University of Illinois; Fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science; Certificate of Distinction from the
International Congress of Entomology; Burroughs Wellcome Innovation
Award in Functional Genomics; the Founders Memorial Award from the Entomological
Society of America; a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship; a Guggenheim
Fellowship; Fellow, Animal Behavior Society; Fellow, American Academy
of Arts & Sciences; and member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Robinson earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University and was
an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Ohio State University.
[click
to hide]
