Ayako Kusakabe

Dr.  Kusakabe is a USDA-NIFA postdoctoral researcher in the department of Entomology. Her research aims to develop sustainable alternatives to chemical nematicides by isolating metabolites with nematicidal properties from symbiotic bacteria of insect-killing nematodes. Bacterial metabolites show great promise as a biorational control strategy to control plant parasites that annually cause billions of dollars of crop damage. 

In her teaching, she is strongly interested in incorporating real-world connections into lesson materials and tackling real-world problems to boost learning in vital areas in the classroom. Her goals in this program are to hone and expand her suite of teaching skills, to learn from practiced faculty in the co-teaching aspect of the program, and to transform and refine her delivery as a college-level teaching professional. In the co-teaching opportunity, her goals are to gain hands-on experience in co-teaching approaches and the right-course delivery methods and to polish her delivery skills.