Rate My Professor Hongmei Li-Byarlay

Hongmei Li-Byarlay, Ph.D., F.R.E.S., is the Research Associate Professor of Entomology in the Agricultural Research and Development Program at Central State University. She serves as Principal Investigator of the Li-Byarlay Lab, Director of the Bee Research Facility, and Project Director for Central State University Pollinator Health. A Purdue University Ph.D. alumnus, she received the 2023 John V. Osmun Alumni Professional Achievement Award in Entomology from Purdue University for establishing a career reputation of distinction in the field. She also earned the Association for Women in Science Zenith Award for leadership, innovative thinking, and commitment to inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility in STEM, and holds Fellowship in the Royal Entomological Society.

Since 2017 at Central State University, Dr. Li-Byarlay's research examines behavioral genetics, evolutionary genetics, epigenetics, and molecular ecology of social insects, focusing on honeybees. Key projects include grooming and biting behaviors against Varroa mites using a mobile app for tracking, pesticide effects on bee flight ability, midgut bacteria, survival, gene expression, gut microbiota, and metabolomics, queen rearing and grafting for mite-resistant genetics, transportation stress under USDA NIFA funding, and glyphosate exposure from urban flora. She leads annual queen rearing workshops, bee breeding with beekeepers, and mentors undergraduates and postdocs who present at national conferences such as the Entomological Society of America. Notable publications comprise "Biting behavior against Varroa mites in honey bees is associated with changes in mandibles, with tracking by a new mobile application for mite damage identification" (Apidologie, 2024), "Impact of chronic exposure to field level glyphosate on the food consumption, survival, gene expression, gut microbiota, and metabolomic profiles of honeybees" (Environmental Research, 2024), "Effects of tefluthrin and guadipyr on the midgut bacteria of adult Apis mellifera" (Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, 2024), "Examining parent-of-origin effects on transcription and RNA methylation in mediating aggressive behavior in honey bees (Apis mellifera)" (BMC Genomics, 2023), and "Non-Crop Flora in Urban Landscapes Provide Persistent Glyphosate Exposure Pathways for Honey Bees" (Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2026). Her scholarship, with over 2,800 Google Scholar citations, advances sustainable apiculture and pollinator health for agriculture.