Rate My Professor Ashfaq Sial

Ashfaq Sial is a Professor of Entomology in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia, within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, contributing to Agricultural and Veterinary Science through integrated pest management research. He earned his B.S. from the University of Arid Agriculture Rawalpindi in Pakistan, M.S. from the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom, and Ph.D. in Entomology from Washington State University in 2010. Following his doctorate, he served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of California, Berkeley from 2010 to 2013 and as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Cornell University in 2013 before joining the University of Georgia faculty. At UGA, he holds research, extension, teaching, and service appointments and serves as the IPM Coordinator for the state of Georgia. His career has focused on the biology and ecology of economically important arthropod pests of perennial fruit crops, particularly developing sustainable integrated pest management programs for small fruits such as blueberries.

Sial's research emphasizes insecticide toxicology, resistance evolution, and the use of biochemical, molecular, and quantitative genetic approaches to manage resistance risks. Key areas include the invasive spotted-wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), insect monitoring techniques, biological control, host plant resistance, and systems-level pest management integrating multiple tactics. He has secured over $32.1 million in competitive grants from federal, state, and industry sources. Sial has authored over 200 research and extension publications, delivered 276 presentations including 43 invited seminars, 13 webinars, and 3 keynote addresses, developed educational materials like blogs, websites, and smartphone apps, and organized 21 symposia at national and international conferences. Notable publications include 'Implications of insect management for human survival' (2013, American Entomologist), 'Selection for resistance, reversion toward susceptibility, and synergism of chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram in obliquebanded leafroller' (2012, Pest Management Science), and 'Assessment of resistance risk in obliquebanded leafroller to the reduced-risk insecticides chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram' (2010, Journal of Economic Entomology). His contributions have advanced pest management practices for fruit crops. Awards include the Entomological Society of America Activity Award (2011), John Henry Comstock Award (2010), and multiple honors from Washington State University such as the President's Award (2009) and Dr. William R. Wiley Award (2007-2009).