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Dr. Zhiqiang Cheng, PI, Professor and Extension Specialist
Research Interest:
Management of broadly defined pests (insects, weeds, pathogens, nematodes, etc.) of turfgrass system and landscape plants; Soil ecology; Environmental bio-indicators.
Email: cheng241@hawaii.edu
Education:
Ph.D. Environmental Science, The Ohio State University (OSU), Columbus, OH. 2007.
B.S. Environmental Biology, Nanjing University, P.R. China. 2000.
Professional Experience:
2023-present. Professor and Extension Specialist
Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, CTAHR
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
2018-2023. Associate Professor and Extension Specialist
Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, CTAHR
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
2013-2018. Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist
Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, CTAHR
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
2007-2013. Post-Doctoral Researcher
Department of Entomology, Urban Landscape Ecology Program
OSU - Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), Wooster, OH
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Kenneth Choi (M.S. Student in Entomology, PEPS)
Kenneth started his Entomology M.S. Program in January 2020. His M.S. thesis research focuses on chemical and biological control of oriental flower beetle, a pest impacting lots of landscape and erible plants in Hawaii. Kenneth also works as a team member in the lab on various other projects such as coconut rhinoceros beetle and more. Kenneth is a member of UH's team who won the national champions of the Entomology Games Competition at 2021 ESA Annual Meeting.
Email: kchoi2@hawaii.edu
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Elizabeth Buchholz (M.S. Student in Tropical Plant Pathology, PEPS)
Hailing from Wisconsin, Elizabeth started her TPP M.S. Program in August 2021. For her M.S. thesis research, she will primarily work on management of coffee anthracnose and coffee leaf rust, two key diseases affecting coffee in Hawaii. She also works on root-knot nematode control on various ornamental plants.
Email: ebuchh@hawaii.edu
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Mason Russo, M.S. (Ph.D. Student in Entomology, PEPS)
Mason did his Entomology M.S. in Dr. Cheng's Lab in 2017-2019. He then started his Entomology Ph.D. Program in Dr. Cheng's Lab in August 2020. Mason has interest in a wide range of insects, and will mainly focus on chemical and biological control of coconut rhinoceros beetle, and hala scale control and its impact on hala forests in Hawaii. Mason also participates in other projects in the lab, such as management of Ficus gall wasps, lobate lac scale, root-knot nematode, etc.
Email: russomas@hawaii.edu
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Previous Lab Members
Bishnu P Bhandari, M.S. (Entomology)
Bishnu was originally from Nepal. He started M.S. (Entomology) program in August 2013 in Dr. Cheng's lab at UH Manoa, and was awarded M.S. degree in December 2015. The title of his thesis was "Insect Pests of Common Ficus Species in Hawaii: Hosts and Management". Bishnu then worked as Technician in Dr. Cheng's lab in January to May 2016. Bishnu is currently a staff at USDA APHIS.
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Jennifer Michalski, M.S. (Entomology)
Jennifer came to UH Manoa from Michigan. She started M.S. (Entomology) program in August 2015 in Dr. Cheng's lab at UH Manoa, and was awarded M.S. degree in May 2017. The title of her thesis was "Effects of novel “lights out” mulching and fertilization turfgrass renovation technique on arthropod, weed, and nematode communities". Jennifer is now back home working at an institute of science in Michigan to curate the insect exhibit there.
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Matthew Kellar, M.S. (Entomology)
Matt graduated from Linfield College with a BS in biology. After graduating from Linfield, Matt began working with the Hawaii coconut rhinoceros beetle eradication team before attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa to pursue a master in entomology. In his M.S. research in Dr. Cheng's Lab, Matt worked on chemical control of various new invasive pests attacking landscape plants in Hawaii, including coconut rhinoceros beetle, Ficus stem and leaf gall wasps, and lobate lac scale.
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AJ Lindsey, M.S. (TPSS)
AJ started his TPSS M.S. Program in August 2016. Funded by a CTAHR grant awarded to Dr. Cheng (Dr. Joe DeFrank in TPSS is Co-PI of this project), AJ is co-advised by Dr. DeFrank and Dr. Cheng. He worked on the project to suppress Bermudagrass from Seashore paspalum, an important research need of Hawaii's turf/golf industry. AJ then obtained his Ph.D. (Horticulture) at Iowa State University in 2021. He is now an Assistant Professor working on urban turfgrass management at University of Florida.
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Kelsey Mitsuda, M.S. (Tropical Plant Pathology)
Kelsey started her TPP M.S. Program in January 2017. In her M.S. research in Dr. Cheng's Lab, she primarily worked on projects related to plant-parasitic nematode control on various ornamental plants and in turfgrass and landscape systems, and plant/crop safety related to control method(s) studied.
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Dr. Roshan Manandhar (Post-doctoral Research Associate)
Roshan worked in Dr. Cheng's lab as a Post-doctoral Research Associate from January 2016 to May 2017. His main project was biological control of coconut rhinoceros beetle using entomopathogenic nematodes. Roshan also participated with other projects, such as statewide survey of lobate lac scale. Roshan is now an Assistant Extension Agent in PEPS on Kauai.
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Dr. Philip Waisen (Post-doctoral Researcher, 0.50 FTE in Dr. Cheng's lab)
Philip worked in Dr. Cheng's lab as a Post-doctoral Researcher (0.50 FTE in Dr. Cheng's lab) from 2019 to 2020. Philip mainly worked on management of plumeria rust, hala scale, and lobate lac scale, using traditional and biological control methods. Philip also participated with other projects in the lab, such as chemical and biological control of coconut rhinoceros beetle and oriental flower beetle. Philip is now an Assistant Farm Advisor (Extension Agent) at University of California Cooperative Extension.
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Dr. Jing Li (Visiting Scholar)
Jing is an Associate Professor in Agricultural University of Hebei, Hebei Province, China. She was a visiting scholar in Dr. Cheng's lab for one year from February 2016 to January 2017. Jing's main project was biological control of coconut rhinoceros beetle using entomopathogenic fungi, such as Beauveria spp. and Metarhizium spp. While in Hawaii, Jing also studied specimens of the genus Micrencaustes deposited in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
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Dr. Shijun Zhang (Visiting Scholar)
Shijun is an Associate Professor in Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangdong Province, China. She was a visiting scholar in Dr. Cheng's lab for one year from August 2017 to August 2018. In her one year in Hawaii, Shijun mainly worked on projects related tropical urban horticulture and landscape management.
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Mr. Jirapon El Kluaymai-ngarm
El was a visiting student from Thailand, and worked on various projects in Dr. Cheng's lab in the summer 2017.
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Ms. Khaing Su Yin (Alice)
Alice was a visiting student from Thailand, and worked on various projects in Dr. Cheng's lab in the summer 2016.
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Mr. Purvaansh Lohiya
Puru was a visiting student from Thailand, and worked on various projects in Dr. Cheng's lab in the summer 2015.
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Mr. Gabriel Basílio
Gabriel was a visiting student from Brazil, and worked on various projects in Dr. Cheng's lab in the summer 2015.
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Mr. Jameson Acoba (Undergraduate Student in PEPS)
Jameson worked on Chinese banyan gall wasps control project in Dr. Cheng's lab in Augsut to October 2013.
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