Meet the 2025 Entomology Research and Outreach Fellows
Print
EmailMSU Entomology is proud to welcome Araya Pore and Hieu Mai as the 2025 EROF Scholars!
What is EROF?
The Entomology Research and Outreach Fellowship (EROF), hosted by Michigan State University’s (MSU) Department of Entomology, is a summer-long, paid research or outreach opportunity that allows students to participate in first-rate research at MSU.
Founded by a group of graduate students in 2020, the goal of this program is to create opportunity for students with limited access to research opportunities, allowing them a unique opportunity to get their foot in the door. The EROF Program not only equips these scholars with valuable scientific skills, but also empowers the next generation of scientists by providing them with hands-on experience.
Every year, the EROF student researchers come from a wide range of academic backgrounds and different levels of scientific experience. The program is open to undergraduate students at any stage of their studies and from any college or university—not just MSU. Participants gain valuable research experience that supports a variety of career paths in science and beyond.
Meet the 2025 EROF Scholars:
Araya Pore
Mentor: Dr. Amanda Lorenz
School: Lansing Community College/Michigan State University 2023
“My name is Araya Pore and I’m a 2023 MSU alumnae and second-year student at LCC studying biotechnology. I’m working with Dr. Amanda Lorenz in the Bug House this summer to positively promote the department and its developments as well as providing a safe space for the public to learn about insects, arachnids, and isopods through visual aids and personalized interaction.
My primary focus for this summer is to create a presentation for the 2025 MidSURE symposium about the husbandry of insects and how to care for them with respect to their natural environment.
I’m so grateful for this opportunity and so excited to continue doing great work at Michigan State! Go Green!”
Hieu Mai
Mentor: Martín Brubaker
School: Michigan State University
“I'm a sophomore at MSU majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Pharmacology and Toxicology. I enjoy watching and playing sports, especially basketball and football. I also love cooking and have been doing it since I was 9.
For the summer, I'm a technical aide for Martín Brubaker's woolly apple aphids research project at the Wilson lab. For Martín's research, I'm currently doing a lot of phenology and efficacy trials on woolly apple aphids. I'm also doing a poster on whether commercially available wasps (Aphidius colemani and Aphidius ervi) can be used for controlling rosy apple aphids. With this project, I'm learning how to do bioassays as well as the clerical work that goes into research like writing abstracts and lit reviews.
This program has been one of the most interesting experiences I've had, and I have learned so much more than I expected.”
