08/21/2009

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Ohio State's Grewal Named Fellow of the Society of Nematologists

Writer:

Mauricio Espinoza
espinoza.15@osu.edu
(330) 202-3550

Source:

Parwinder Grewal, Entomology, OARDC and OSU Extension
grewal.4@osu.edu
(330) 263-3963

WOOSTER, Ohio — Parwinder Grewal, a professor of entomology with Ohio State University’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and OSU Extension, has been named a Fellow of the Society of Nematologists (SON) — the highest honor awarded by this international scientific organization.

The designation underscores Grewal’s numerous contributions to the field of nematology, particularly his internationally recognized work on entomopathogenic nematodes — tiny roundworms that are used as biological insecticides against a wide variety of pests in turfgrass, ornamental nurseries, citrus, strawberries, cranberries and other crops.

“I am humbled by this recognition by my peers,” said Grewal, who was elected to SON’s presidency in 2008 and is also director of Ohio State’s Center for Urban Environment and Economic Development. “It is indeed a privilege to be considered among a select group of distinguished nematologists in the world. This honor places a special onus on me to further contribute to the study of these little known but economically very important roundworms.”

The recognition took place at SON’s 48th annual meeting July 14 in Burlington, Vt.

Grewal received bachelor’s (1981) and master’s (1983) degrees from Punjab Agricultural University. He started his professional career as a nematologist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, working on mushroom nematodes. He received his doctorate from London’s Imperial College and was appointed as Higher Scientific Officer at the Horticultural Research Institute in Littlehampton, England, where he contributed to the development of the first biological product based on insect-parasitic nematodes for the control of mushroom sciarid flies.

Grewal came to the United States in 1991, joining Rutgers University to pursue more fundamental research on insect-parasitic nematode host-finding behavior, genetics and thermal biology. In 1993, he was hired by Biosys Inc. as a senior scientist and manager, leading research on mass-production and formulations of nematodes for pest control. He joined Ohio State in 1997 as an assistant professor.

During his career, Grewal has published 150 peer-reviewed papers, 17 book chapters, and 11 review articles on plant-, insect-, mollusk-, fungal- and bacteria-feeding nematodes. He is the lead editor of the book Nematodes as Biocontrol Agents, published by the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International (CABI, United Kingdom) in 2005.

Additionally, Grewal has organized several symposia, including “Evolution of Parasitism in Nematoda” (Salt Lake City, 2001) and the “Third International Symposium on Entomopathogenic Nematodes and Their Symbiotic Bacteria” (Wooster, Ohio, 2003).

Grewal’s research program has received over $11 million in grants and earned him several distinctions, including the 2002 Syngenta Recognition Award for Excellence (conferred by SON), the 2002 Entomological Society of America (ESA) Award of Excellence in Integrated Pest Management, and the 2008 ESA Recognition Award in Urban Entomology.

For more information about the Society of Nematologists, log on to http://www.nematologists.org. To learn more about Grewal’s nematode research, go to http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/nematodes.

OARDC and OSU Extension are the research and outreach arms, respectively, of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

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