Contact: Meg Henderson

STARKVILLE, Miss.—A Mississippi State faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology is being recognized regionally for outstanding research, teaching and outreach by the world’s largest entomological society.

Assistant Professor Priyadarshini “Priya” Basu is the recipient of the 2022 Early Career Professional Award from the Entomological Society of America, Southeastern Branch.

Annually, each regional ESA branch honors a student or early professional working within the field of entomology who has demonstrated excellence and made outstanding contributions to entomology through research, teaching and outreach. Founded in 1889, the parent organization has more than 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry and government.

“It is an honor to receive this award,” Basu said. “The Entomological Society of America, through its various branches and sections, has been extremely supportive of all its members, especially students and early career professionals. This award reinforces my desire to strive even harder.”

Basu came to MSU last fall after completing a postdoctoral position at Oregon State University. She earned her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in zoology from the University of Calcutta in India. Her research focuses on bee physiology, nutrition, molecular ecology, neuroethology and toxicology, as well as understanding and mitigating the impacts of various stressors on bee pollinators. Last year, she began working on a project to build a pollen database to catalogue the nutrition profiles of over 100 bee-pollinated plants throughout the U.S. and Canada.

An active member of ESA, Basu serves as the Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology section representative to the Early Career Professional Committee and chairs the Standout Early Career Professionals Series for the magazine Entomology Today. In addition, she has been elected vice chair of the Early Career Professional Committee and will become chair next year.

“This award was only made possible because of everyone who has helped me,” she said. “I would like to thank Dr. Jeff Gore and Dr. Angus Catchot at MSU, as well as Dr. Ramesh Sagili at Oregon State for the nomination and their support letters. And, of course, I also thank the Southeastern Branch of ESA for the award.”

For more on MSU’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, visit www.biochemistry.msstate.edu. For more on the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, visit www.cals.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.