Program and Logistics Team
Becky Trout Fryxell, Ph.D.
Dr. Trout Fryxell is the Program Director for the REEVES REEU. She is responsible for overall program management, including coordinating the efforts of the co-PIs and overseeing the work of the scholars during the semester.
She also leads the University of Tennessee Medical and Veterinary Entomology Team. As a medical and veterinary entomologist, her research program integrates vector management and control, describes vector life histories, delineates risk factors for pathogen and vectors, and characterizes vector populations using genetics (microbial, population, and landscape).
Katy Smith, M. Sci.
Katy is the Graduate Student Mentor for the REEVES REEU. She is a PhD candidate in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee, as well as a Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) Fellow. Her dissertation focuses on developing and evaluating sustainable methods for beef producers to make data-driven pest management decisions. Her dissertation will serve as the basis for the collaborative science in this project, meaning she will train and ensure VESs are collecting data from each farm and uploading it to a shared data repository.
Karen DeLong, Ph.D.
Dr. DeLong is an Associate Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics and a 2024-2025 Athletics Professor of Excellence at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Dr. DeLong will be leading the Leadership Executive Seminar Series for the Veterinary Entomology Scholars. Dr. DeLong currently teaches the James L. Herbert Executive Seminar Series class at UTK which educates students about the fundamentals of leadership and brings in agricultural industry leaders to discuss their leadership philosophy. Similarly, the Leadership Executive Seminar Series will feature prominent agricultural leaders over Zoom to interact with the scholars and discuss leadership.
Elizabeth Oyer, Ph.D.
Dr. Oyer is the Director of Synergy Evaluation Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. With 29 years of experience in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods evaluation, Dr. Oyer has managed millions of dollars in small- and large-scale contracts for single and multi-site projects at the local and state level. She has conducted program evaluation across sectors with a special emphasis on STEM education at K-12 and post-secondary levels. Her expertise in trans-disciplinary partnership development has fostered collaboration with various stakeholders, including the community, government agencies, industry, higher education, and K-12 education.
Nikki Christen, Ph.D.
Dr. Christen is an Evaluation Associate with Synergy Evaluation Institute at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has a Master of Information Science and a doctorate in Evaluation, Statistics, and Methodology, along with over 16 years of experience in higher education, higher education assessment, and evaluation. Dr. Christen’s research interests include data visualization, survey methodology, higher education assessment competencies and skillsets, and teaching of evaluation.
Research and Extension Veterinary Entomologists
Nancy Hinkle, Ph.D.
Dr. Hinkle is a Veterinary Entomologist with an Extension appointment at The University of Georgia. She leads the Veterinary Entomology program which focuses on pests of poultry and cattle, but extends to cover other livestock, wildlife, and pets. Major projects involve controlling bloodsucking horn flies on cattle, flies around dairies and other animal agriculture facilities, beetles in poultry houses that transmit Salmonella to birds, and mites on chickens. She collaborates with the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, UGA Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, UGA Department of Poultry Science, the UGA Beef Team, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and other groups with shared interests.
Cassandra Olds, Ph.D.
Dr. Olds is an Assistant Professor of Veterinary Entomology at Kansas State University. Her research activities focus on quantifying and mitigating the impact of arthropod pests and associated pathogens on livestock. She teaches courses in veterinary entomology and vector biology in addition to serving as a livestock entomology extension specialist.
Sonja Swiger, Ph.D.
Dr. Swiger is a professor in the Texas A&M University Department of Entomology and an Extension specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Her research and teaching interests lie in the field of managing nuisance biting flies and pathogen transmitting insects that impact the health of cattle and other livestock, wildlife, and humans. Swiger plans, conducts, and participates in educational programs for pest management of arthropods and diseases attacking livestock, companion animals, and public health. Swiger has developed several educational materials and programs to better educate and serve Texans in regard to mosquito borne diseases.
