Nematode Pathogenesis of Insects and Other Pests

Dr Raquel Campos-Herrera is working on the ecology and biology of entomopathogenic nematodes since her PhD program in 2001, developed in the Spanish Council of Research (CSIC)-Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She received her PhD in 2006 with the Thesis entitled “The entomopathogenic nematodes from La Rioja and their symbiotic bacteria”, which was awarded with the European Mention and the Extraordinary Award as the best PhD in Zoology, Ecology and Botany in the University Complutense from Madrid. She has self-funded her whole career as young scientist, obtaining different fellowships and grants to support her PhD program (Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, and post-graduate CSIC program) and the postdoctoral research at the University of Florida (USA) and Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA-CSIC) (Ramón Areces Foundation and Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowships for Career Development). Recently, she joined the laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology (University of Neuchâtel) in October 2013. Here she develops the project “Applications of entomopathogenic nematodes for a sustainable control of soil insect pests”, granted by the Swiss National Science Foundation as part of the NRP68 “Sustainable use of Soil as a Resource”, appointed until March 2016. During her development as young researcher, she has participated in 11 national and european grants and was PI in two regional grants to study the entomopathogenic nematode biology and ecology for native Spanish isolates.

• 1. Diversity, biology and evolutionary relationships.- 2. Improvement of entomopathogenic nematodes: a genetic approach.- 3. Behaviour and population dynamics of entomopathogenic nematodes following Application.- 4. Entomopathogenic nematode in the soil environment.- 5. Trophic relationships of entomopathogenic nematodes in agricultural habitats.- 6. Utilizing persistent entomopathogenic nematodes in a conservation or a more classical biological approach.- 7. Prospects in the application technology and the formulation of entomopathogenic nematodes for biological control of insects pests.- 8. Insect-cadaver applications: pros and cons.- 9. Entomopathogenic nematode application technology.- 10. Entomopathogenic nematode production and application: regulation, ecological impact and non-target effects.- 11. New York case study: biological control of Otiorhynchus ligustici with native persistent entomopathogenic nematodes using a more classical approach.- 12. Entomopathogenic nematodes in turfgrass: ecology and management of important insect pests in North America.- 13. It takes a village: entomopathogenic nematode community structure and conservation biological control in Florida (US) orchards.- 14. Entompathogenic nematodes in Cuba: from laboratories to popular biological control agents for pest management in a developing country.- 15. Entomopathogenic nematodes in tropical agriculture: current uses and their future in Venezuela.- 16. Orchard applications of entomopathogenic nematodes in Spain.- 17. Entomopathogenic nematodes in the Czech Republic: diversity, occurrence and habitat preferences.- 18. Entomopathgenic nematodes in Italy: occurrence and use in microbial control strategies.- 19. Entomopathogenic nematodes in iran: research and applied aspects.- 20. Entomopathogenic nematode exploitation: case-studies in laboratory and field applications from South Africa.- 21 Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita as a control agent for slugs