Dr. Jeffrey Bloomquist is a professor in the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida. Throughout his career, he has specialized in insecticide toxicology with an emphasis on insecticide mode of action.
Bloomquist was born in 1956 and raised in northwest Indiana. He obtained a B.S. degree from Purdue University (1978), an M.S. from Mississippi State University (1981), and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside (1984), all in entomology. He then served as postdoctoral associate at Cornell University in the laboratory of David Soderlund (1985-1988), studying mammalian toxicology and pharmacology of insecticides. From there, he accepted a position with Rhone-Poulenc AG Company before moving to the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech. There, he served as assistant professor (1989) and attained the rank of associate professor in 1995 and full professor in 2003. In 2009, he relocated his research group to the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida.
Bloomquist has an internationally recognized research program in neurotoxicology, including work on environmental Parkinsonism, as well as insecticide resistance and the search for new molecules for vector control. He produced some of the first papers on the neurophysiological characterization of RDL-type insecticide resistance, and his group documented Parkinsonian effects of insecticides in animal models and established up-regulation of the dopamine transporter as a new biomarker of neurotoxic insult. In 2006, he led a large collaborative project on new synthetic mosquitocides for malaria control under the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, and later expanded his research into natural products. New repellent molecules identified by his group include the pyrethroid acids and halogenated aryl amides. Over his career, he served as major professor to 10 M.S. and nine Ph.D. students and supervised 24 postdoctoral scientists, as well as several technicians and 25 undergraduate student researchers. His students and postdocs have received a number of awards and are employed in government, industry, and academic positions worldwide.
Bloomquist has published more than 200 scientific papers (h-index 43) and personally given over 60 invited research presentations. He served as executive editor for Pest Management Science and as a member of the USEPA FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel and External Scientific Advisory Committee of the Innovative Vector Control Consortium. Awards for his research accomplishments include the Innovation Award in the Chemistry of Agriculture from the American Chemical Society (2021), ESA Southeastern Branch Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology (2019), University of Florida Term (2018-2020) and Research Foundation (2019-2021) professorships, American Chemical Society International Award for Agrochemicals (2017), the John V. Osmun Alumni Professional Achievement Award in Entomology, Purdue University (2009), and 17th Paul Dahm Memorial Lecture (Iowa State University). He also received several awards from Virginia Tech, including Fralin Institute Senior Faculty Fellow (2009), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Award for Research Excellence (2006), and the Gamma Sigma Delta Research Award of Merit (2000).
In 1985, Bloomquist married Dr. Judy Mollet, and they have two sons. In his spare time, he enjoys wine tasting and gardening, and he is an avid angler in both fresh and saltwater.