Kerry Oliver

Kerry M. Oliver is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences. His research focuses on defensive symbiosis, exploring how heritable microbial partners protect insects against pathogens, parasitoids, and environmental stressors.

• Courses Taught: ENTO 4000/6000 (General Entomology), First-Year Odyssey Seminars on insect evolution and symbiosis
• Research Themes: Aphid-microbe interactions, strain-specific Hamiltonella defensa protection, climate change impacts on symbiotic defense, eco-evolutionary dynamics

Selected Scientific Contributions: Discovery of Wolbachia-mediated fungal resistance in aphids, characterization of APSE phage toxin mechanisms, thermal resilience in symbiotic partnerships, and strain-level variability in defensive mutualisms.

Lab Members: Graduate students Roy Kukuk, Kenedie Jones, Ben Trendle, and Alina Makarenko; former students include Clesson Higashi, Nicole Lynn-Bell, and Stephanie Weldon.