Michelle Samuel-Foo

Michelle Susan Samuel-Foo is an American biologist and Assistant Professor of Biology at Alabama State University. She serves as President of the Southeastern Entomological Society of America. In 2020 Samuel-Foo became the first African-American person to win a major award for entomology when she was awarded the Entomological Society of America Founders' Memorial Recognition.[1]

Michelle Susan Samuel-Foo
Born
Sangre Grande
Alma materUniversity of Georgia
Brewton–Parker College
AwardsEntomological Society of America Founders' Memorial Award
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Florida
Alabama State University
ThesisGenetic analyses of Hessian fly resistance in KS 94U275 (2003)

Early life and education

Samuel-Foo is from Sangre Grande, Trinidad and Tobago.[2][3] Her parents were cash crop growers, and she helped them to sell vegetables in markets.[2] Samuel-Foo started college determined to study biology, but became fascinated by the world of entomology.[2] She earned her undergraduate degree at Brewton–Parker College, where she was awarded a scholarship.[2] She decided to stay in academic research after a conversation with the school's head of science, David McMillin, who encouraged her to look for graduate schools.[2] She was a graduate student at the University of Georgia, where she studied the resistance of Triticum aestivatum (common wheat) to mayetiola destructor (hessian fly).[4] At the time, she was one of only two minority students in the department.[2] Her dissertation committee was chaired by H. Roger Boerma, who was well known for the Soybean Improvement Programme. After graduating Samuel-Foo joined the programme, which is where she first experienced DNA sequencing and molecular breeding.[2]

Research and career

In 2009 Samuel-Foo joined the faculty at the University of Florida. Here she worked to support the registration of speciality crops in the Southern States and Puerto Rico.[5][3] She was made regional field coordinator of the United States Department of Agriculture Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4) Project.[2] From 2015 to 2017 Samuel-Foo served as President of the International Association of Black Entomologists and on the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Food Crops Society.[6][7]

Samuel-Foo joined the faculty of Alabama State University in 2018, where she leads the programme on industrial hemp research.[1] When she arrived at Alabama State University she established an urban teaching garden[8] that looks to introduce students to sustainable agriculture.[9][10]

In 2020 Samuel-Foo was named President-Elect of the Southeastern Entomological Society of America.[9][11] She provided expert guidance to the United States congress on the Murder Hornet Eradication Act, which looks to eliminate the Asian giant hornet (so-called murder hornet), an invasive species that is predatory to honey bees.[12][13] In her testimony, Samuel-Foo spoke about the devastating impact of the murder hornets on the United States honey bee population, as well as their potential threat to critical agriculture.[14][15] In May 2020 Samuel-Foo was awarded the Entomological Society of America Founders' Memorial prize, and dedicated her award lecture to the research of Ernest J. Harris.[5] Harris was the first Black entomologist to the be subject of the Founders' lecture.[5]

References
  1. "Michelle Samuel-Foo Is the First African American to Win a Major Entomological Award". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  2. "Memoirs of Black Entomologists | Entomological Society of America". www.entsoc.org. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  3. "55 CFCS 2019 República Dominicana". www.cedaf.org.do. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  4. Samuel-Foo, Michelle Susan (2003). Genetic analyses of Hessian fly resistance in KS 94U275. OCLC 56497943.
  5. "Michelle Samuel-Foo to Deliver 2020 ESA Founders' Memorial Lecture | Entomological Society of America". www.entsoc.org. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  6. "BOARD OF DIRECTORS". CFCS. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  7. "Dr. Michelle Samuel-Foo | Alabama State University". www.alasu.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  8. "New Garden and Entomology Lab Coming to Campus". HBCU Sports Forums. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  9. Insider, The (2020-03-12). "ASU's Samuel-Foo is New President of the Entomological Society of America's Southeastern-Branch!". TheMontgomeryInsider. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  10. "New Entomology Professor | UPAA". www.upaa.org. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  11. "MICHELLE SAMUEL-FOO". Diverse. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  12. Grijalva, Raul M. (2020-06-25). "H.R.6761 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Murder Hornet Eradication Act of 2020". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  13. Visram, Talib (2020-05-14). "The government may have bungled the coronavirus, but it wants to get a head start on murder hornets". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  14. Beitsch, Rebecca (2020-06-25). "Lawmakers weigh methods to battle Asian 'murder hornets' found in US". TheHill. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  15. "Written Statement of Proposed Testimony" (PDF). Congress.
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