Souls of SOLS, March 2025




Risa Aria Schnebly
March 27, 2025

Mehreen Tahir –– Environmental Life Sciences PhD 

Desert locusts, a grasshopper-like insect endemic to parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, can swarm in numbers so great that they darken the skies. When a swarm passes through a region, they decimate the local agriculture, depleting resources for many people who already experience food insecurity. Growing up in Pakistan, Mehreen Tahir remembers moments in her childhood when the swarms severely affected her family.     

“My family wouldn't have food. We would see a severe increase in prices, and we would not be able to eat much at all. And at that time, like, you know, my mom would be like, ‘I'm not hungry,’ and I didn't really notice it registers to me as a kid that well, is she not hungry, or do we just not have enough resources for her to have food because she has three kids to feed?” 

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A woman with a black blazer and a pearl necklace stands smiling against a white background.
Mehreen Tahir

Now, as a biochemist and PhD candidate working with the Global Locust Initiative, Tahir is working to help create pest management techniques to help the millions of people in the world whose lives are still impacted by locust outbreaks. Locusts are typically managed through pesticides, which can be harmful to both humans and other species in an environment. Tahir is working to help improve the effectiveness of less harmful biopesticides.  

“Farmers don’t want to use biopesticides because they’re slow to action. If an outbreak is happening, you want to curb it as quickly as possible.”  

So, Tahir investigates how to make locusts more susceptible to biopesticides by studying their diet. Tahir feeds the locusts in her lab diets that vary in both protein and carbohydrate levels, then exposes them to biopesticides to see how the locusts fare. So far, she’s found that locusts eating more proteins are more susceptible. That finding might make farmers more willing to switch to biopesticides in combination with fertilizers that increase the amount of protein in the soil, Tahir explains: “If farmers are actively fertilizing their fields, not only does it increase the [crop] yield, but it also increases the nitrogen content associated with protein.”  

Tahir’s upbringing motivates her extracurricular activities as much as it does her research.  

“I grew up in a region where women were not allowed to go to school. Even today it is severely looked down upon... So coming to the US was a transformative experience for me, because women already had a seat at a table, whereas in Pakistan, I was still fighting for that.” 

Tahir fights hard to make education accessible for other students. In her first year at ASU, Tahir started volunteering as part of the Inclusive Excellence Task Force with the School of Life Sciences. Later, she got involved with the Graduate Student Government, for which she now serves as the Vice President of Professional Development. In that role, she’s fought to create more opportunities for student funding, like a newly created Student Support Award.  

“Your potential should never be tied to your financial upbringing or financial constraints,” Tahir insists, “You should be able to dream... So, in my leadership... the biggest thing for me has been to ensure that people’s financial upbringing should not be constraining them from applying to anything.” 

Tahir has a lot of gratitude for the people who’ve helped her become both an academic and advocate: “I want to acknowledge my advisors, Dr. Arianne Cease and Dr. Jon Harrison. They’ve always been very supportive... And I’m very grateful to GSG for giving me the space to fight for change. I also want to dedicate my success to all the women around the world, especially the women in Pakistan, women living in oppression. If you can be brave enough to dream, it’s difficult, but there is a way forward.” 

Shawn Mahoney –– Animal Behavior PhD  

There’s a lot to love about honeybees: on top of making sugar-sweet honey, they are essential pollinators for many of the foods we eat. Plus, they’re pretty cute. But Shawn Mahoney, a PhD candidate in the Smith lab at ASU, is less interested in what honeybees do, and more interested in how their brains work. 

“Humans have about 10 billion neurons,” Mahoney explains. “Honeybees only have about a million.  And yet they can do these super computationally complex things where they’ll go from flower to flower, zigzagging around, and when they’re done, they’ll fly in a straight line back to the hive. They have to do some complex 3D trigonometry [for that].” 

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A blonde man with a goatee and sunglasses stands crossing his arms and smiling.
Shawn Mahoney

Mahoney’s research has to do with a very specific brain function in honeybees: how they respond to smell. Mahoney inserts a tiny probe into the brain of a living honeybee - either in the antennal lobe or the mushroom bodies - and records the bees' response to puffs of odor at varying wind speeds. That allows him to study how different areas of the honeybee brain respond to smell in different wind conditions – a question that’s understudied, he says.  

“Obviously, there are the odor molecules hitting your nose, your sensory receptors. But there’s also the effect of the wind that carries that odor to you in the first place. So I study the touch effect of the wind in the honeybee brain.” 

To do that, Mahoney exposes the honeybees to different concentrations of scents at varying wind speeds to understand whether they detect and respond to those scents. After monitoring the neural activity in response to those different conditions, he can calculate what combinations of environmental effects the bees respond to most commonly.  

Mahoney has dreamed of researching animals for a long time. But the specifics of his dream have changed quite a bit. As an undergraduate at Indiana University, he started out studying paleontology.  

“It was super cool, and I learned some great techniques. But I felt like I wanted to work with living organisms. Then I found I really enjoyed neuroscience and genetics... And so, when it came time to apply to graduate school, that’s what I wanted to focus on.” 

Though Mahoney hopes to continue his work in neuroscience, and perhaps specifically the neuroscience of honeybees, he’s found some other passions during his time at ASU that he’s open to pursuing further in the future. One of his new passions is science communication – a field he’s recently started to explore – as well as teaching. He works as a TA for an online undergraduate course in which students design research projects through working with videos of a honeybee colony.  

“You really get to see the growth of the students through their research projects. They’re really engaged and super motivated, which is great. You don’t see that in a lot of other courses.” 

 




Virtual beehive research course bridges gap for online students



Hong Lei, instructing the class during an immersion week for online students when the course first began in Spring 2023. Photo provided by Hong Lei.


Gabi Harrod
November 19, 2024

The School of Life Sciences' pioneering online research course, “Behavioral and Molecular Analysis of Honey Bees,” engages students in hands-on scientific exploration from anywhere in the world. The course isn’t just about watching bees - professors Hong Lei and Cahit Ozturk co-instruct the course and provide a unique opportunity for students to conduct real-world research through live, 4k-capable web camera feeds of beehives. Students in the course design and conduct original research projects on bee behaviors, analyzing data on temperature, humidity and hive activity to understand how environmental factors impact bee behavior.

In just seven weeks, students complete a cycle based on observations of bees in an “observation hive” — a unique hive with glass walls that allows viewers to watch bees as they perform daily activities, from the famous waggle dance to foraging and hive maintenance. This includes observation, data collection, and analysis. At the end of the course, they present their findings in a manuscript format, some even posting their work on Open Science Framework for public access. For students, this course doesn’t just end with a grade — it leaves them with a lasting piece of scientific work.

This virtual lab experience offers students the opportunity to collect and analyze real data. Marilyn Roberts, a senior majoring in biological sciences with a concentration in ecology and conservation, described the course as pivotal in helping her develop essential research skills. “I expected it to be more like virtual biology labs, where everything is simulated,” she said. “But it wasn’t like that at all. I came up with my own questions, collected my own data and ran analyses through software. I genuinely felt like I was doing research, just as I would in person.”

Roberts’ project explored the activity levels of forager bees during the winter to determine if they store extra honey in preparation for the harsh Arizona summers. “I monitored the forager bees returning to the hive over a period of days, sometimes using specialized software to count them, and analyzed the data alongside temperature readings,” Roberts said. “Though I couldn’t prove my hypothesis definitively, I found enough interesting trends to suggest there’s more to investigate.” 

Her newfound confidence in research even inspired her to present her findings at ASU’s undergraduate symposium, where she earned an honorable mention. “Research was always intimidating to me, but this course gave me so much confidence,” Roberts shared.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see how engaged the students are,” said Lei. “They get to experience the entire research process — from question formulation to manuscript writing. Some of our students, like Mariana Bustamonte, have even used this course to strengthen their applications to graduate programs.”

Mariana Bustamante took the course while living in Belgium. “I didn’t know I could be a researcher until I joined this class,” Bustamante explained. “I never knew that was an option for my life, and it opened a bunch of new doors for my future.” Her research focused on “undertaker” bees, a subset of honey bees responsible for removing dead or diseased bees from the hive. She observed how temperature fluctuations impacted their efficiency and noticed that colder temperatures led to higher rates of “mistakes,” as undertaker bees occasionally left deceased bees in the hive. “This sparked my interest in how temperature might affect cognitive abilities in insects,” Bustamante said.

Students’ research experiences are made possible by the seamless support Lei provides in response to their requests. “If I emailed Dr. Lei about needing a camera movement or a temperature change, by the next day, the adjustments were made,” Bustamante noted. Roberts echoed this, mentioning the flexibility in camera setups that allowed her to track her bees’ movements efficiently.

The course has been a huge success, quickly reaching maximum enrollment each term and recently expanding to include graduate students. Ozturk, who works on ASU’s Polytechnic campus has worked with bees for over 30 years. He ensures that the hive environment is optimal for observation. “We make sure everything is ready for students to collect data remotely,” he said, emphasizing the dedication behind the scenes that makes this virtual research possible. “We open the hives, check on their health and ensure everything is ready for students to collect data remotely.”

Reflecting on the experience, Roberts shared her appreciation for the unique opportunity ASU provides to online students: “ASU’s undergraduate research program is phenomenal, and having these opportunities available to online students is invaluable. I can’t imagine having this experience anywhere else.”

Lei and Ozturk are now looking forward to their next cohort, which will include graduate students as well. “Research opportunities have traditionally been limited to students physically on campus, but with the growing demand for online education, we wanted to offer online students authentic, original research experiences,” Lei said, “This has been truly a great team effort, with generous support from Kevin Tinnin and David Roman who volunteered to design and implement the network architecture, the OURS program from The College, TLC and SOLUR from SOLS and Shawn Mahoney as TA.”

“We’re excited to see how much further we can push this project,” Ozturk added. “It’s inspiring to think about the doors this could open for online students who want a real taste of scientific research.”

 




Latest "Ask a Biologist" episode explores the world of locusts, grasshoppers and swarm prevention




Gabi Harrod
March 25, 2024

Ask a Biologist is a website and podcast dedicated to teaching about the living world. The podcast is hosted by Charles Kazilek, executive director of K-12 outreach and advisor to the Provost on academic technology. On his podcast, he's better known as "Dr. Biology."

Exploring the complex world of locusts and grasshoppers is not only a journey into the realm of entomology but also a deep dive into the historical and ecological impact these creatures have on our environment. The most recent episode of the podcast "In the Swarm's Shadow - Locust Science", featuring Dr. Biology, presents a comprehensive view of these insects' fascinating biology and the profound consequences of their swarm behavior on ecosystems and agriculture. Rick Overson and Mira Word Ries from the Global Locust Initiative at Arizona State University join the conversation, shedding light on the intricacies of phenotypic plasticity and the environmental cues that lead to the dramatic swarming events known throughout history.

Headshot of Charles Kazilek
Charles Kazilek, aka "Dr. Biology"

The narrative unfolds with the acknowledgment of locusts as a particular type of grasshopper, possessing the unique ability to change form in response to environmental conditions. This phenomenon is a prime example of phenotypic plasticity, illustrating how locusts can transform from solitary creatures into vast, ravenous swarms that can devastate crops and alter landscapes. The podcast touches on historical events, such as the decimation caused by the now-extinct Rocky Mountain locust, and extends to the current challenges faced by many regions worldwide, including Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Mira Word Ries (left) with Rick Overson (right).

The immense task of controlling locust swarms calls for early detection and international collaboration. Innovative strategies are discussed, such as the "doughnut diet" that could influence locust migratory behavior and soil and crop management techniques aimed at making fields less hospitable to these insects. The conversation underscores the importance of a unified approach in combating locust invasions, emphasizing that locusts know no borders and require a collective effort to manage.

Adding a personal touch, the guests share their scientific journeys and the passion that drives their research. Mira's experience on an Ecuadorian tea farm sparked her love for science, while Rick's childhood fascination with insects led to his career in biology. They highlight their work on HopperWiki, a platform designed to connect researchers, farmers and enthusiasts in the realm of locust study and practical agriculture.

The podcast episode serves as a beacon of motivation for those looking to venture into the fields of science and agriculture. It offers a comprehensive view into the world of locusts through the eyes of dedicated experts, providing valuable insights and advice for aspiring scientists and agricultural professionals. The podcast concludes by inviting listeners to explore the Global Locust Initiative's HopperWiki, a resource hub that embodies the collaborative spirit necessary to tackle the global locust threat effectively.

Locust on a pink frosted donut
Learn about the "doughnut diet" by tuning in to this episode!

In 30 minutes, this episode delves into the biological wonders of locusts, the challenges posed by their swarms, and the cross-disciplinary efforts required to mitigate their impact. The conversation not only educates but also inspires, reflecting the dynamic and collaborative nature of scientific inquiry and its crucial role in addressing pressing environmental concerns.

Copy by Charles Kazilek