David Mota-Sanchez

Contact Me

Associate Professor, Insect Toxicology
Department of Entomology

Bio

Dr. David Mota-Sanchez is co-director of the Arthropod Pesticide Resistance Database and a faculty member in the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University. His program focuses on insecticide resistance management, toxicology and international agriculture and biotechnology, particularly in Latin America. He served as an Embassy Science Fellow with the U.S. State Department and USDA FSA in Mexico to increase awareness and understanding of genetically engineered crops, providing scientific information on their economic benefits and social importance for production. In addition to his international work, he leads projects in Michigan on integrated pest management, arthropod resistance and monarch butterfly conservation.

Research

Mota-Sanchez’s research centers on the evolution of arthropod resistance to pesticides, insecticide toxicology, and metabolism of pesticides in insects at local and global scales. His work has focused on pests such as Colorado potato beetle, fall armyworm, western flower thrips, codling moth and oblique banded leafroller. A current project examines fall armyworm adaptation to Bt toxins and insecticides in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America. His lab employs in vitro and in vivo bioassays and radiotracer techniques to study metabolism in susceptible and resistant insects. He has partnered with the National Institute of Agricultural Research in Ecuador to study pesticide impacts on corn pests, non-target organisms and aflatoxin contamination in corn grains. He also leads a monarch butterfly conservation project with research and extension components in both Michigan and Mexico.

Concentrations

Insecticide resistance
Biotechnology
Insect physiology
Toxicology
IPM

Extension & Outreach

Mota-Sanchez leads extension and research programs that strengthen pest management and promote sustainable agriculture locally and globally. His work centers on two key initiatives: a Latino farmer extension program that expands access to USDA resources and integrated pest management (IPM) training, and the Arthropod Pesticide Resistance Database, an internationally recognized tool for tracking pesticide resistance across species and regions.

The Latino extension program to engage Latino farmers in US agriculture reached more than 200 farmers with limited prior access to MSU extension and USDA programs. Growers received about 3 million dollars in grants from USDA loans thanks to the training and many growers have successfully implemented the IPM training they received.
The Arthropod Pesticide Resistance Database is widely used by EPA, USDA, FAO, WHO, farmers and the pesticide industry in the US and around the world. About 100,000 users per year access the database and it is widely cited in different research articles and books.