McFrederick Melittology Lab

Bee Conservation Through the Study of Symbiosis

Antelope Valley Poppies

People

Current Lab Members

 

Principal Investigator

  Quinn S. McFrederick
Quinn started as a conservation biologist, then added molecular ecology and evolution to his toolkit. He is passionate about bee conservation and also loves basic science centered around microbes that associate with bees. His current favorite bees are tropical stingless bees that eat carrion (both omnivores & obligate necrophages).

 

 

 

 

Postdoctoral Researcher

  Fernando Fleites-Ayil
Fernando earned his PhD degree in Biology from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. He is interested in host-parasite interactions, particularly spillover events involving tropical insects including stingless bees, ecology of social and solitary insects (with an emphasis on bees), behavior of social insects, and pollination services provided by eusocial and solitary bees in the tropics.

 

 

 

 

 

Graduate Students

  Jorge Mora

Jorge is originally from Costa Rica and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Geography with an emphasis in Urban Management from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica.  During his undergraduate studies, he  developed a strong interest in biogeography, which led him to work in ecology, monitoring biological corridors and studying stingless bees as bioindicators of functional connectivity. He then moved to Panama to work as a lab and field technician at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, where he focused on plant–microbe interactions. He is now a PhD student in Entomology at the University of California, Riverside, where his research centers on how environmental variation and diet shape the assembly and function of microbial communities associated with bees and their floral resources. He is especially interested in how extreme dietary strategies, such as necrophagy in stingless bees, influence host–microbe interactions and what this reveals about microbiome plasticity in changing landscapes. In his free time, he enjoys running, practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and cycling. 

Pura Vida!

 

 
 
  Helen Vo
Helen received a B.S. in Biology from UCR and is now continuing at UCR as an Entomology PhD student. Her research focuses on using bioinformatics to understand how environmental pollutants caused by human activity or natural disasters shape the bee gut microbiome, and how this relationship impacts plant-pollinator interactions  and conservation efforts. She is also interested in incorporating more science communication strategies into her work. When not doing science, she enjoys sketching and fiddling with her fish tank. 

 

 

 

 
 
  Tallisker "Talli" Weiss
Talli is a PhD student in the Department of Entomology, studying the relationship between bee microbiomes and environmental contamination. She graduated magna  cum laude from Cornell University, where she majored in Interdisciplinary Studies, minored in Science Communication, and completed an honors thesis on bumblebee  foraging patterns in the McArt lab.

 

 

 

 

 

Undergraduate Students

  Kayla Cazares
Kayla is a 4th-year undergraduate student studying biology. She decided to join the McFrederick Lab to learn more about native bees and obtain more lab skills. She  enjoys working in the field, going on hikes with her dog (Cheese), and baking/cooking for her friends and family.
 
 
 

 

 
 
  Daniella Lu
Born and raised in the Inland Empire, Daniella is currently in her final year of undergrad at the University of California, Riverside. Her research interests include environmental influences on plant microbiomes, plant-pollinator interactions (particularly in urban environments), invasion ecology, and how invasive plant species affect soil microbial communities. 

 

 

 

 

 

Lab Alumni

Graduate Students

Lyna Ngor (Now a UC Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow at the German Lab at UCI)

Magda Argueta-Guzman (Now a UC President's Postdoctoral Fellow at the Gaiarsa Lab at UC Merced)

Laura Leger (Now a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Cass Lab at UCR)

Jason Rothman (Now an Assistant Professor of Teaching in Microbiology at UCR)

Kaleigh Vilchez Russell (Now an Assistant Professor at College of the Desert)

Hoang Vuong (Now a Senior Scientist at Cepheid)

Postdoctoral Researchers

Dr. Peter Graystock (Imperial College)

Dr. Evan Palmer-Young

Undergraduate Students 

Ali Alkuhder

Viraj Verma

Sophia Popal

Bella Fernandez

Sarah Almuthhach

Cheyenne Darrow

Kevin Flores

Noah Kim

Ava Stevenson

Aberdeen Fernandez

Helen Vo

Chloe Lam

Nikki Fournier

Marissa Diaz

Abigail Cordero

Rita Kyurkylan

Lyna Ngor 

Eva Huang

Hildreth Rocha

Melany Melkoyan

Rodrigo Burciaga (visiting scholar through MSRIP)

Miriam Martinez

Laura Leger 

Cindy Chen

Sara Sanchez

Sara Marquez

Kristina Martinez

Duane Kim

Pearl Le

Sarah Miller

Jessica-Foster Nwaigbo

Citlali Perez

Chloe Pham

Research Specialist

Giselle Lozano