Meet The Team

Philip Kaufman portrait on black background

Phillip Kaufman, Ph.D.

Professor, Head of Entomology Department
phillip.kaufman@ag.tamu.edu

Phillip Kaufman, Ph.D., is a professor and head of the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University. His research program focuses on the development of new pest management tools for livestock and companion animal systems. Beef cattle, dairy cattle, and horses are the predominant livestock in Texas and are one focus of this program; while investigations on improvement for ectoparasite management on companion animals and wildlife are the second focus. Insecticide resistance and control failures are commonplace for many fly and tick pests; therefore, innovative systems are needed to assist in their management.

Jordan Salomon, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Scientist
jordan.salomon@ag.tamu.edu
https://jordansalomon.weebly.com/

Jordan is dedicated to better understanding zoonotic vector-borne diseases in their sylvatic cycles. Investigating ticks, triatomines, and fleas, she applies the one health framework to identify novel management techniques to prevent transmission to vulnerable populations. During her bachelor’s and master’s at San Francisco State University, she described how tick, helminth, and tick-borne pathogen distributions are influenced by community level factors such as rodent and predator diversity. Her PhD research at Texas A&M University included describing vector-host associations, vector phenology, vector-borne pathogen surveillance, testing vector-host preferences, and testing for parasite manipulation of vector foraging behaviors. Jordan is also passionate about career development for young scientists, please don’t hesitate to reach out for mentorship.

Lauren Beebe

Ph.D. Student
lbeebe@tamu.edu

Lauren Beebe is a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Phillip Kaufman in the Veterinary and Livestock Entomology Laboratory. Her dissertation research focuses on stable flies, their mechanisms of resistance to pesticides, blood-meal host identification, and developmental response to temperature. Lauren received her MS from Texas A&M University with a focus in Forensic Entomology. During this time, she worked with Dr. Aaron Tarone studying the responses of blow fly larvae to extreme temperatures. She received her BS in Entomology and minored in Forensic Science at Purdue University.
Lauren has had a life-long passion for animals and fosters for a local rescue. She also competes in agility with one of her dogs and cares for a plethora of other animals at home.