KAREN C.

POH, PHD, MPH, CPH

kpp5400@psu.edu | karen.poh227@gmail.com | (972) 998-4098
ORCID: 0000-0002-1608-6879
101 Chemical Ecology Lab, University Park, PA 16802

EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy, Entomology 2018

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Dissertation: “Determinants of Spatial and Temporal Variation of West Nile Virus
Transmission in Texas”
Advisor: Dr. Gabriel L. Hamer

Masters of Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences 2014

University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX

Bachelor of Science, Public Health 2012

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Concentration in Infectious Diseases and Public Health Microbiology

CERTIFICATIONS

Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems 2018

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Certified in Public Health (NBPHE #9993) 2014

University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX

APPOINTMENTS

Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University January 2019-Present

Post-doctoral Scholar, Dr. Erika Machtinger Veterinary Entomology Laboratory (VEL)
● Investigate the chemical ecology of tick-host associations by conducting bioassays of
tick-host preference and tick pheromones
● Facilitate the community science project “Pennsylvania Parasite Hunters” with Drs. Erika
Machtinger and Michael Skvarla to collect hunter-submitted samples of deer keds and
ticks from deer and other hunted animals to determine the distribution of the ectoparasites
and pathogens within the Mid-Atlantic region
● Determine behavior of fly parasitoids as a basis for locations of preferred dipteran hosts

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 FUNDING

● Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences McIntire-Stennis 2019-2021

Forestry Grant Amount funded: $198,051
Project: Laws of Attraction: Evaluating responses of the Lyme disease vector Ixodes
scapularis nymphs to tick- and host-produced semiochemicals and their utility in
surveillance and control tools
Role: Co-PI
PI: Erika Machtinger

● Penn State Extension Multistate and Integrated Program Grant 2019-2020

Project: Survey of ticks and deer keds using Amount funded: $25,000
hunter-harvested deer in the Mid-Atlantic
Role: Co-Investigator
PI: Michael Skvarla

PUBLICATIONS

Poh, K.C., Chaves, L. F., R., Reyna-Nava, M., Roberts, C. M., Fredregill, C. L., Debboun, M.,
Bueno Jr., and Hamer, G.L. 2019. The influence of weather and weather variability on
mosquito abundance and infection with West Nile virus in Harris County, Texas, USA.
Science of the Total Environment 675.
Wormington, J.D., Golnar, A., Poh, K.C., Martin, E., Hamer, S.A., and Hamer, G.L. 2019. Risk
of African swine fever virus sylvatic establishment and spillover to domestic swine in
the United States. Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases 19, 7.
Poh, K.C., Martin, E.M., Walker, E.D., Kitron, U., Ruiz, M.O., Goldberg, T.L., and Hamer, G.L.
2018. Co-circulation of Flanders virus and West Nile Virus in Culex mosquitoes
(Diptera: Culicidae) from Chicago, Illinois. Journal of Medical Entomology 55, 1062-
1066.
Liu, Y., Yan, S., Poh, K., Liu, S., Iyioriobhe, E., and Sterling, D. A. 2016. Impact of air quality
guidelines on COPD sufferers. International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease 11, 839.
Poh, K., and Smith, K. 2016. Survey of Larvae and Adult Mosquitoes of Medical Importance in
Bryan/College Station, Texas (Diptera: Culicidae). Instars: A Journal of Student
Research, 2.
Wong, A. W., Paulson, Q. X., Hong, J., Stubbins, R. E., Poh, K., Schrader, E., and Nunez, N. P.
2011. Alcohol promotes breast cancer cell invasion by regulating the Nm23-ITGA5
pathway. Journal of Experimental Clinical Cancer Research 30, 75.
Poh, K.C., Medeiros, M. C. I., and Hamer, G.L. (In Review) Landscape and demographic
determinants of Culex infection with West Nile Virus during the 2012 Dallas County
epidemic.
Fedele, K., Poh, K.C., Brown, J.E., Jones, A., Durden, L.A., Tiffin, H.S., Pagac, A., Li, A.Y.,
Machtinger, E.T. (In Review) Host distribution and pathogen infection of fleas
(Siphonaptera) recovered from small mammals in Pennsylvania.

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 PRESENTATIONS

INVITED PRESENTATIONS
Poh, K., Skvarla, M., Evans, J., Jones, A., D’Amico, V., and Machtinger, E. Pennsylvania
Parasite Hunters: Engaging hunters through citizen science and education on the status of
ticks, deer keds, and tick-borne diseases. Entomological Society of America Annual
Meeting, St. Louis, MO. November 2019.
Poh, K., Villena, O., Reyna-Nava, M., Fredregill, C., Debboun, M., Bueno Jr., R., and Hamer
G.L. Effects of landscape and demographic factors on West Nile Virus infection in Culex
quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) in Harris County and the City of Houston,
Texas. Society of Vector Ecology Annual Meeting, Yosemite National Park, CA.
October 2018.
Poh, K., Medeiros, M. C. I., Sawlis, S., and Hamer, G.L. Spatial analysis of Culex mosquito
infection with West Nile Virus during the 2012 Dallas County epidemic. Southwestern
Branch of the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Tyler, TX.
February 2016.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Poh, K., Villena, O., Reyna-Nava, M., Fredregill, C., Debboun, M., Bueno Jr., R., and Hamer
G.L. Effects of landscape and demographic factors on West Nile Virus infection in Culex
quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) in Harris County and the City of Houston,
Texas. Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC.
November 2018.
Poh, K., Jun, M., Han, D., Bueno, R., Reyna, M., Debboun, M., and Hamer, G.L. Effects of prior
temperature and precipitation on West Nile virus infection in Culex quinquefasciatus Say
in Harris County, Texas. Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver,
CO. November 2017.
Poh, K., Jun, M., Han, D., Bueno, R., Reyna, M., Debboun, M., and Hamer, G.L. Effects of prior
temperature and precipitation on West Nile virus infection in Culex quinquefasciatus Say
in Harris County, Texas. Texas Mosquito Control Association Annual Meeting,
Fredricksburg, TX. October 2017.
Poh, K., Medeiros, M. C. I., Sawlis, S., and Hamer, G.L. Spatial analysis of Culex mosquito
infection with West Nile Virus during the 2012 Dallas County epidemic. Department of
Entomology Graduate Student Forum, College Station, TX. August 2016.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Poh, K., Medeiros, M. C. I., Sawlis, S., and Hamer, G.L. Spatial analysis of Culex mosquito
infection with West Nile Virus during the 2012 Dallas County epidemic. Poster
Presentation. Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Man Annual Meeting, San Antonio,
TX. May 2016.
Poh, K., Lee, J., Rich, A. Development of an assessment tool to evaluate environmental
exposures in pediatric cancer patients. Poster Presentation. UNTHSC Public Health
Practice Experience Poster Session, Fort Worth, TX. August 2013.
Wong, A. W., Paulson, Q. X., Hong, J., Stubbins, R. E., Poh, K., Schrader, E., and Nunez, N. P.
Alcohol and Estrogen Promote HER2 Tumor Development and Progression by Up-

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 regulating PI3K and Down-regulating PI3K Regulator miR-126. UT Austin’s 2nd
Annual Nutritional Sciences Department Poster Session, Austin, TX. August 2010.

SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS, AND HONORS

SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS

● Willie Mae Harris Fellowship for Outstanding Teaching Assistants 2017-2018
(Total awarded: $12,000)
● Texas Mosquito Control Association, Jimmy K. Olson Scholarship 2016-2017
(Total awarded: $1,000)
● Texas A&M University Merit Fellowship 2014-2015
(Total awarded: $64,000)
● Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Declined, Fall 2014
Excellence Fellowship
● SPH Dean’s Award for Continuing Students 2013-2014
(Total awarded: $2,000)
● Dean’s Incoming Student Scholarship Award 2012-2013
(Total awarded: $1,000)

AWARDS AND HONORS

● Penn State Post-doc Society Travel Award October 2019
● Graduate and Professional Student Council Travel Award August 2018
● STEMCELL Technologies Conference Travel Award July 2018
● Aggie Women in Entomology Graduate Student Travel Award May 2018
● Young Professionals Industry Shadowing Program, American Mosquito February 2018
Control Association
● 1st Place, Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, November 2017
Graduate Student Ten-Minute Paper (Oral), MUVE, Diptera, Mosquitoes 2
● Texas A&M University Office of Graduate and Professional Students, August 2017
Research and Presentation Travel Award
University of Washington Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling in July 2016
Infectious Diseases
● Bob Crowe Award for Exemplary Leadership and Service May 2014
st
● 1 Place, UT Austin's 2nd Annual Nutritional Sciences Department Poster August 2010
Session

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University August 2015-December 2018

Teaching Assistant, ENTO 208 (Veterinary Entomology Lecture)

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Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University August 2015-December 2017
Teaching Assistant Coordinator, ENTO 209 (Veterinary Entomology Laboratory)

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, January 2014-May 2014

University of North Texas Health Science Center
Teaching Assistant, EOHS 5318 (Humans and Animals and the Diseases They Share)

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health August 2013-December 2013

Sciences,
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Teaching Assistant, EOHS 5300 (Introduction to Environmental Health, in-person)

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, June 2013-August 2013

University of North Texas Health Science Center
Teaching Assistant, EOHS 5300 (Introduction to Environmental Health, online)

INVITED GUEST LECTURES

● Texas A&M University, College Station, TX April 2018

Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences
VIBS 413/607: Introduction/Applied Epidemiology
“Spatial Epidemiology of Vector-Borne Diseases”
● Texas A&M University, College Station, TX December 2017
Expanding Your Horizons
Entomology Workshop
“Women in Entomology”
● The Woodlands Township, The Woodlands, TX July 2017
Environmental Services Department
“West Nile Virus in Harris County”
● Texas A&M University, College Station, TX April 2017
Department of Entomology
ENTO/VIBS 489/689: Methods in Vector-Borne Disease Research
“Spatial Epidemiology of Vector-Borne Diseases”
● The Woodlands Township, The Woodlands, TX September 2016
Environmental Services Department
“Geographic information systems and Aedes albopictus surveillance in the Woodlands,
TX”
● Texas A&M University, College Station, TX April 2016
Department of Entomology

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 ENTO 208: Veterinary Entomology
“Tick-Borne Diseases”
● Texas A&M University, College Station, TX October 2015
Department of Entomology
ENTO 208: Veterinary Entomology
Topic: “Mosquito-Borne Viruses”

EXTENSION

● Vector-Borne Disease Workshop, Pennsylvania Furnace, PA October 2019

Penn State Extension
“Common Disease Vectors of PA”
“Mock Scenario: A Tale of Two Vectors”
● Ag Progress Days 2019, Pennsylvania Furnace, PA August 2019
Penn State College of Agriculture
“Check Yourself: Ticks and the Diseases They Carry”
● Garden Fest 2019, Montoursville, PA August 2019
Penn State Extension
“The Dirt on Ticks and Mosquitoes – Protection from These Disease-carrying Pests!”
● Conservation Volunteer Training, State College, PA June 2019
PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
“Check Yourself: Ticks and the Diseases They Carry”
● Homeland Security Conference, Summerdale, PA March 2019
South Central Task Force
“Coping with Ticks and Other Disease-Bearing Insects”
● Master Vector-Borne Disease Management Certification Course September 2018
Western Gulf Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases, Monroe LA
“Introduction to Mosquito Anatomy and Biology”
“Identification Laboratory”

ACTIVITIES, LEADERSHIP, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
● Vector-Borne Disease Extension Team (Penn State Extension), March 2019-Present
Team Member
● ESA Southwestern Branch Student Affairs Committee, May 2018-April 2019
Committee Member
● Chemical Ecology Faculty Search, Graduate Student October 2016-April 2017
Representative

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JOURNAL REVIEWER
● Clinical Epidemiology (1)
● Journal of Insect Science, Feature Co-Editor, Field Methods in Medical and Veterinary
Entomology
● Insects (4)
● International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (1)
● Medical and Veterinary Entomology (1)
● Royal Society Open Science (1)

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
● Society of Vector Ecology October 2018-Present
● American Mosquito Control Association November 2017-Present
○ Young Professionals Group
● Texas Mosquito Control Association October 2014-December 2018
● Entomological Society of America May 2015-Present
● American Public Health Association May 2015-Present
● Delta Omega, Member May 2014-Present

UNIVERSITY-LEVEL MEMBERSHIPS
● Aggie Women in Entomology (AWE), September 2017-December 2018
Member/Mentor
● Letters to a Pre-Scientist, Pen Pal September 2017-May 2018
● Entomology Graduate Student Organization September 2014-December 2018
(EGSO)
○ Vice President – Internal Affairs May 2017-May 2018
○ Awards and Judging Chair, October 2017-February 2018
Mentorship in Entomology Symposium 2018

NOTABLE OUTREACH AND VOLUNTEERING EVENTS

● State College Farmer’s Market, Volunteer at the VEL table November 2019
● Walk in Penn’s Woods, Volunteer at the VEL table October 2019
● Great Insect Fair, Volunteer at the VEL table September 2019
● Ag Progress Days, Volunteer at the PSU Extension table August 2019
● Entomological Society of America, Volunteer November 2017-2018
● Science Night, Volunteer for AWE April 2018
● Mentorship in Entomology Symposium, Awards and Judging Chair February 2018
● Super Techno Science Night, Volunteer for the EGSO table February 2017-2018
● Introduction to Mosquitoes for PMPs, Volunteer and facilitator January 2018
● Expanding Your Horizons, Volunteer and guest speaker for AWE December 2017
● Entomology and Beyond, Volunteer and coordinator for EGSO July 2017

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