Leo M Kerner
ABOUT ME
Hello, and welcome to my website! My name is Leo, and I am an entomologist. I investigate conservation biocontrol practices to manage insect pests and weeds in vegetable crops. I'm also passionate about helping people and the environment through my work. Over my career I have focused on three goals:
-
Develop integrated pest management programs for the betterment of farmers and to educate stakeholders.
-
Aid in conservation of the natural world via land stewardship and ecologically-informed farming practices.
-
Bridge the gap between people, their food, and the critters that support our food system through education and outreach.
PAST EXPERIENCE
Work summary
Working in Entomology since I was early in high school, I've had a diversity of experience in many disciplines within the field. My first job allowed me access to the Smithsonian's collection of map butterflies (Cyrestis), and I helped a Duke University graduate student with studying their evolutionary wing morphology.
​
As an undergraduate, I worked in an urban ecology lab studying gloomy scale (Melanaspis tenebricosa), aphids, and arthropod natural enemies. I later got a second job as a lab tech maintaining a lab colony of corn planthoppers (Peregrinus maidis), and completed a research project on the relationship between these insects and maize mosaic virus (MMV).
​
As a graduate student, I became more interested in applied entomology and joined an extension-focused lab at University of Maryland. There, my masters thesis was concerned with conservation biocontrol and explored the influence of no-till agriculture on weed pressure and insect community composition, with the end goal of disseminating my findings to local growers.
Specific roles and duties
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSIST. -HOOKS LAB,
DEPT. OF ENTOMOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Aug. 2022 - May 2025
At the University of Maryland I studied conservation biocontrol of cantaloupe pests and weeds by employing a living mulch. My goals with this project were to develop a system that employed conservation agriculture techniques, like crop diversification and constant ground cover, to maintain crop productivity while reducing pesticide and cultivation inputs. I also focused on sharing my findings not just with the scientific community, but local growers and stakeholders who would most directly benefit.
RESEARCH ASSIST. & TECHNICIAN -WHITFIELD LAB,
DEPT. OF ENTOMOLOGY AND PLANT PATHOLOGY,
NC STATE UNIVERSITY
Oct. 2018 - Aug 2021
In Dr. Whitfield's lab at NC State, I worked as an undergraduate research assistant and then as a technician, maintaining 6-8 colonies of the corn planthopper Peregrinus maidis along with it's vectored corn virus maize mosaic virus (MMV). I also gained a wide variety of in-lab skills, such as vascular puncture inoculation, DAS-ELISA, and agrobacterial transformation. As an undergrad I completed a research project on planthopper host choice.
UNDERGRAD. RESEARCH ASSIST. - FRANK LAB,
DEPT. OF ENTOMOLOGY AND PLANT PATHOLOGY,
NC STATE UNIVERSITY
Sept 2017 - Aug 2018
My first job as an undergraduate was working in Dr. Frank's urban ecology lab at NC State. There I assisted graduate students in collecting data on herbivory, aphid population counts on street trees, and rates of parasitism of gloomy scale Melanaspis tenebricosa. I also completed a research project on insect communities between native and non-native ornamental gardens, which was published along with Dr. Parson's broader research.
HIGH SCHOOL RESEARCH ASSIST. - NIJHOUT LAB,
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY,
DUKE UNIVERSITY
Sept 2015 - June 2017
As a highschooler I assisted graduate students in examining evolutionary wing morphology of Cyrestis butterflies. I used Gimp software to analyze wing morphology and pattern integration, and collected wing morphology data from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History insect collection in DC.
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
August 2022 - Present
M.S. in Entomology
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Achieved a masters of science in entomology in May 2025.
​
August 2018 - August 2021
B. S. Biology- Conservation, Ecology, and Evolution
Minor in Entomology
NC STATE UNIVERSITY
Achieved a bachelor of science in biological and life sciences with a concentration in conservation, ecology, and evolution, and a minor in entomology in August of 2021. My cumulative GPA was a 3.509, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
​