Marla Spivak

Marla Spivak
Born 1955 (age 60–61)
Fields entomology
Institutions University of Minnesota
Alma mater Humboldt State University, University of Kansas
Notable awards MacArthur Fellowship Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture Women of Discovery Award
Website
beelab.umn.edu

Marla Spivak (born 1955) is an American entomologist, and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota.[1]

Education and Research

Spivak graduated from Humboldt State University and from the University of Kansas.[2] She is particularly well-known for her work breeding lines of honey bees that detect and quickly remove diseased larvae and pupae, which is called hygienic behavior.[3] She was instrumental in setting up the first bee Tech-Transfer Team in the United States,[4][5] which continues to help honey bee queen breeders select for disease resistance traits.[6] More recently, she has begun studying the role of resins, which bees collect and mix with wax to make propolis coatings on the inside of their hives, an example of honey bee social immunity.[7] Her lab also studies the effect of the surrounding landscape on the health and nutrition of both honey bees and native bees.[8]

Awards

She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant in 2010 for her work with honey bees.[9][10] After receiving the MacArthur grant, she started an organization called the Bee Squad, which works to help people in the community get involved in helping bees.[11] In 2015, she won the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota AgriGrowth Council.[12] In 2016, she won the Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture (category: Knowledge) for her many contributions to understanding bee biology and threats to bee health[13] and a Women of Discovery Award from Wings Worldquest, honoring her pioneering work promoting bee health and conservation.[14]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.entomology.umn.edu/People/GradFaculty/Spivak/
  2. ↑ http://www.macfound.org/fellows/43/
  3. ↑ Spivak, Marla (December 2008). "The Future of the MN Hygienic Stock of Bees is in Good Hands!" (PDF). American Bee Journal. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ McNeil, M.E.A. (September 2010). "Getting bees back on their own six feet" (PDF). American Bee Journal. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  5. ↑ Lee, Katie (June 2011). "Origins". Bee Informed Partnership Blog. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ https://beeinformed.org/programs/tech-teams/
  7. ↑ Spivak, Marla (March 2013). "The Benefits of Propolis" (PDF). Bee Craft Magazine. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ Miller, Kerri (April 1, 2013). "With hives in sharp decline, expert calls for bee-friendly flowers". MPR News. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ Ross, Jenna (September 28, 2010). "Buzz about U professor is 'genius'". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  10. ↑ Horn, Tammy (November 1, 2011). Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us about Local Trade and the Global Market. University Press of Kentucky. p. 170. ISBN 9780813134369.
  11. ↑ http://beelab.umn.edu/BeeSquad/
  12. ↑ http://agrigrowth.org/membership/distinguished-service-award/
  13. ↑ http://discover.umn.edu/news/food-agriculture/siehl-prize-excellence-agriculture-announces-2016-laureates/
  14. ↑ http://www.wingsworldquest.org/2016-womenofdiscovery-gala/
External video
Marla Spivak: Why bees are disappearing, TEDGlobal 2013


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