Dr. Bruce Tabashnik’s research focuses on insect resistance to transgenic crops and insecticides. Applying evolutionary and ecological principles to improve pest management is a common theme in his work. His research team discovered diamondback moth resistance to Bt sprays in Hawaii, which is the first documented case of field-evolved resistance to Bt toxins.
After 13 years on the faculty in the Department of Entomology at the University of Hawaii, he moved to the University of Arizona in 1996. He is one of the leaders of a collaborative team in Arizona that addresses molecular, genetic, ecological, and practical aspects of resistance. Because of this comprehensive approach, Arizona’s resistance management team is considered the strongest program of its kind in the world.
Bruce has served as head of the Department of Entomology at the University of Arizona since 1996. Under his leadership, the department has enhanced its outstanding reputation in research and extension, while boosting graduate and undergraduate education. Entomology at the University of Arizona was recently ranked number two in a national survey of faculty scholarly productivity.
Tabashnik received his Ph.D. in biological sciences (1981) from Stanford University and his B.S. in zoology (1975) at the University of Michigan. His awards include the J.E. Bussart Memorial Award (1992) from the ESA. The Science Citation Index lists more than 5,000 citations of his 235 publications.
(updated October, 2007)