Eskalen honored by American Phytopathological Society Pacific Division
Akif Eskalen, UC Cooperative Extension plant pathology specialist at UC Davis, received the American Phytopathological Society-Pacific Division’s 2025 Distinguished Service award.
Eskalen’s research focuses on the identification, biology, epidemiology and control of fungal and bacterial pathogens on vines, tree fruits and small fruits in California.
He has been involved with the American Phytopathological Society–Pacific Division for over 20 years, starting when he was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of the late UC Cooperative Extension specialist Doug Gubler’s lab, in the Plant Pathology Department at UC Davis. Eskalen published the quarterly newsletter for the Pacific Division when Gubler was president of APS-PD.
Eskalen later served two terms as secretary-treasurer and was elected president of the society for the 2020–2021 term. He’s remained an active member of the local organizing committee for the annual meetings.
He was presented with the award at the 2025 Joint Meeting of the APS-PD and the 70th Conference on Soilborne Plant Pathogens in Davis on March 27.
Choe, Murillo, Wilson win regional entomology awards
Three UC Riverside faculty members – Dong-Hwan Choe, Amy Murillo and Houston Wilson – received top honors this year from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America. The awards were presented on April 1 at the PBESA conference in the Salt Lake City Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dong-Hwan Choe, professor of entomology and UC Cooperative Extension specialist, won the Entomology Teamwork Award for leading the Ant IPM Alliance Team. Their project targets the Argentine ant, one of the most common nuisance pest ant species in California.
Their approach, known as integrated pest management, uses a variety of control techniques with the overarching goal of minimizing the use of toxic pesticides and having a lower impact on the environment. In this case, the team collaboratively developed a pheromone-based spray as an initial attack, and then the use of baits for subsequent management.
“Winning this award is a high honor,” Choe said. “I think it is also an indication that the entomological community continues to be interested in developing and implementing the pest management tools that help reduce unwanted non-target and environmental impacts while still successfully addressing pest issues.”
Amy Murillo, assistant professor of entomology, received the Medical, Urban and Veterinary Entomology Award. She studies the impact mites and lice have on egg-laying hens.
Some of her projects include developing and testing novel control methods for use in egg production and tools for managing pests in commercial and backyard poultry operations. UCR news has featured her work using on-animal sensors, playfully dubbed “fitbits for chickens,” that measure behavioral changes in chickens caused by mite and louse infestations.
“It means so much to me to be recognized by my colleagues and peers, and I really appreciate it,” Murillo said.
In the next year, her lab hopes to better understand the impact that emerging poultry pests have on cage-free egg production.
Houston Wilson, UC Cooperative Extension specialist, received the Distinguished Achievement in Extension Award. His research focuses on integrated pest management practices for orchards and vineyards.
Wilson is the founding director of the newly created UC Organic Agriculture Institute, where he facilitates the development of research and extension programs designed to increase agricultural productivity.
Part of his work involves extensive outreach to growers of fruits and nuts in California’s Central Valley. Consequently, though his home campus is UCR, his lab is based near Fresno at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
“Extension and outreach are fundamental to my work as a cooperative extension specialist, and I’m extremely honored to have received this award,” Wilson said.
See full story by Jules Bernstein at https://insideucr.ucr.edu/awards/2025/03/13/ucr-scientists-win-big-regional-entomology-awards.
Newton honored with 2025 Common Threads Award
Tracy L Newton, 4-H youth development community educational specialist in Fresno County, was among the six 2025 Common Threads honorees recognized at a luncheon on March 19 in Fresno.
The Common Threads Award recognizes women in agriculture who have chosen to make a difference in their communities and our world through philanthropy and service. It honors those exemplary individuals whose extraordinary contribution of time, energy and resources enhance the lives of all around them.
Newton joined the Fresno County 4-H Program in 2003 as a volunteer. In 2016, she joined the 4-H staff and continues to volunteer as a project leader for the horse and meat goat projects.
“Working with youth and seeing their passion for ag education develop will always be a priority for me,” Newton said. “Nurturing the leadership development in youth gives me hope for a brighter tomorrow.”
Common Threads is a collaborative partnership formed in 1997 by the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation (CALF), the Ag One Foundation at Fresno State and the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at Fresno State to honor worthy women from Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties who have deep roots in agriculture and have made a significant difference within the agricultural industry and their communities.
UC discusses role of universities in research
The UC Academic Congress on the Role of Universities in the Research Enterprise was held March 11-12 at UCLA to foster cross-campus conversation and collaboration on research.
At the systemwide gathering, Vice President Glenda Humiston moderated a panel discussing UC collaborations with the State of California. The panel included Karen Ross, California secretary of food and agriculture; Meghan Hertel, California Natural Resources Agency deputy secretary for biodiversity and habitat; Julianne McCall, chief executive officer of the California Council on Science and Technology; and Trelynd Bradley, deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
They discussed the benefits of research partnerships among academia, government and the private sector.
“The University of California is an incredible partner to CA: leading cutting-edge research, driving new technologies & training the next generation leaders. Thrilled to spend today with this amazing panel talking about examples & what’s next,” Hertel posted on X.
Playground stencils pique preschoolers’ interest in physical activity
Playground stencil projects are just one example of how the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC team in Alameda County strives to build comprehensive programming at schools. In addition to playground stencils, CFHL, UC offers nutrition education, physical activity education, garden-enhanced nutrition education and many other approaches to support a healthy lifestyle.
They created a video to showcase their preschool playground stencil projects at the Annual CalFresh Healthy Living SNAP-Education Forum hosted by the California Department of Social Services. In the video, partners at schools talk about the benefits of the project.
“We wanted to take a minute to celebrate the hard work all the Oakland Unified School District Early Childhood Education teachers, instructional assistants and leaders put in to make our nutrition, physical activity and garden programs thrive!” said Tuline Baykal, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE nutrition program supervisor in Alameda County.
In the video, Maranatha Hosick-Farwell, an early childhood educational coach for Oakland Unified School District, says: “I did notice an increase in active play once we did those stencils.”
Baykal worked with Ethan Ireland, UC ANR videographer, to produce the video. “He did an excellent job!” she said.
The primary goals of playground stencils are to:
- Increase children’s interest in physical activity, as well as the duration and intensity of PA during outside play with low-cost, limited/no equipment
- Encourage development of fundamental movement and motor skills when used in
conjunction with evidence-based physical-activity curricula (i.e., CATCH) - Create appealing outdoor spaces that promote physical activity while also reinforcing nutrition education and academic concepts
- Build capacity among teaching staff to encourage and facilitate physical activities using
outdoor spaces - Support teaching staff to infuse physical activity into the school day outside of the set outdoor break times and teach academic concepts through movement
Reid featured on KTLA 5 for Black History month
UC Master Gardener volunteer Stephen S. Reid, Huntington Rose Garden curator and head gardener, was featured on KTLA 5 for Black History month. Watch at latakoo Pilot | Faster File Transfer | Automated Media Workflows.