Professional and Research Experience:
-Undergraduate research Assistant, Adler Lab, University of Massachusetts Amherst (September 2019-May 2022)
- Laboratory Technician, Winfree Lab, Rutgers University (April- August 2021)
-Senior Thesis, Adler Lab, University of Massachusetts Amherst (September-May 2022)
PhD Student Brooke Donzelli graduated from The University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2022 with a B.S. in Biology. Brooke gained an interest in plant/pollinator/pathogen interactions during her undergraduate career studying under Dr. Lynn Adler at the Adler Lab as an undergraduate research assistant while assisting Dr. Rosemary Malfi with her experiment studying the medicinal effects of sunflower pollen on the Crithidia bombi pathogen in Bombus impatiens. Brooke gained a deeper interest in Native bee taxonomy and pollination ecology while working as a laboratory technician for PhD Canidate Lucia Weinman at the Winfree Lab. Here she helped Lucia with her research using pollen analysis of native bees to study their diets and the plants they pollinate. Brooke then completed her undergraduate thesis under Dr. Lynn Adler and Dr. Gordon Fitch, researching the monoterpenes of the plant Monarda fistulosa asking if they reduce the Crithidia bombi pathogen in Bombus impatiens. At the Strange Lab, Brooke’s research will focus on impacts of disease, pathogen prevalence, and transmission on wild and solitary bees.
From the March 2023 edition of the Entomology Graduate Student Association Student Spotlight 
About: I am from Howell New Jersey, about 10 minutes from the beach! My advisor is Dr. Jamie Strange, and I am a first year PhD student!
Research: I am studying bumble bee pathogens, how they impact bumble bee health, and possible ways to reduce them!
Get to know!
1. If you could be any fictional character, who would it be?
If I could be one fictional character, I would be Samwise Gamgee from the Lord of the Rings. Not only would I get to go on an amazing adventure and hand out with Frodo and Gandalf, but I would get to return safely to the Shire and live out my life in a Hobbit-hole house. Sam is the unsung hero of The Lords of the Rings. I wouldn’t even mind the large hairy hobbit feet.
2. What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
The best gift I’ve ever received was from my Godfather and my dad. They bought me five of my favorite Joni Mitchell albums in vinyl records. She is my favorite artist and before she sadly took all her music off Spotify last year, I listened to her music every day. I haven’t stopped listening to the records since!
3. What’s your ideal sandwich?
My ideal sandwich is a veggie sub from Wawa (a chain popular in New Jersey) with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, cucumbers, jalapenos, EXTRA banana peppers, and EXTRA red wine vinegar. Emphasis on the extra banana peppers.