2026 Hive Minds Speaker Biographies
Lewis Bartlett
Dr Lewis Bartlett is a faculty assistant research scientist at the University of Georgia between the departments of Entomology and Ecology. He works on infectious disease and parasite control alongside honey bee biology and health. He has worked with and kept bees for over ten years across the UK, California, and Georgia. Some of his recent research includes the effect of pesticide exposure on bee health, new parasite controls, crowding of honey bees, and the mechanisms bees use to keep themselves clean.
Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu
Dr. Priya Chakrabarti Basu is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Entomology, Washington State University. Priya is also a courtesy faculty at Oregon State University. She was previously an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University. Priya studies the interactive impacts of multiple stressors on bees, for example poor nutrition, pesticides, climate change and diseases. She uses a wide array of multidisciplinary techniques across fields such as physiology, toxicology, functional biology, multiomics-based approaches and neuroethology to address her research questions. She is currently the Secretary/Treasurer of the American Association of Professional Apiculturists, the Vice-President Elect of the PBT Section of the Entomological Society of America and the North American Chair of the nutrition taskforce for COLOSS, the international bee organization. She was also the past Chair of the Early Careers Professionals Committee of the Entomological Society of America and the Vice-President of Mississippi Entomological Association. In addition to the research community, Priya enjoys teaching and working with stakeholders, policymakers and the general community in protecting bee pollinators and raising pollinator awareness. Priya is also a children’s book author to help spread pollinator awareness among young readers. More information about her lab’s research can be found at: www.priyadarshinichakrabarti.com.
Jamie Ellis
Dr. Jamie Ellis is the Gahan Endowed Professor of Entomology in the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida. He has a BS degree in Biology from the University of Georgia (USA) and a PhD in Entomology from Rhodes University in South Africa. At the University of Florida, Jamie has responsibilities in extension, instruction, and research. Regarding his extension work, Jamie works with assorted clientele through diverse programming such as the UF/IFAS Bee College and the UF/IFAS Master Beekeeper Program. As an instructor, Jamie supervises PhD and masters students. Currently, Jamie and his team have over 30 active research projects in the fields of honey bee husbandry, conservation, and ecology.
Meghan Milbrath
Meghan Milbrath currently works as a research scientist and Extension specialist in the department of Entomology at Michigan State University and teaches honey bee Medicine at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her background is in public health; she earned a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and an MPH from Tulane University School of public health and tropical medicine, and that perspective drives her work on honey bee health. She switched to studying bees after a postdoctoral research appointment with Dr. Zachary Huang, studying nosema disease. However, Meghan has been a beekeeper her whole life, starting with keeping bees as a kid with her dad in Northern Wisconsin as a hobby, and now running a honey bee farm in Southern Michigan - The Sand Hill Bees. She is passionate about supporting the health of honey bees, and loves working with beekeepers.
David Peck
Dr. Peck is the Director of Research and Education at Betterbee in Greenwich, NY, where he assists in product development and research, and also teaches classes and develops scientifically-sound educational materials. His doctoral work in Cornell University's Department of Neurobiology and Behavior was supervised by Professor Tom Seeley. His dissertation research focused on the transmission of mites between bee colonies, as well as the mite-resistance traits of the untreated honey bees living in Cornell's Arnot Forest.
After earning his degree, he has continued to research varroa/bee interactions, including fieldwork in Newfoundland, Canada (where varroa still have not arrived) and Anosy Madagascar (where varroa arrived only in 2010 or 2011). He has served as a teaching postdoctoral fellow in Cornell's Department of Entomology, and is still affiliated with Cornell through the Honey Bee Health program in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Peck has kept bees for more than a decade, though his home apiary is often full of mite-riddled research colonies so he doesn't usually produce much honey.
Samuel Ramsey
Dr. Ramsey received his B.S. in entomology from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Maryland College Park. He completed his post-doctoral training with Dr. Jay Evans, Steve Cook, and Daniel Sonenshine at USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory. Featured on Hulu’s Docuseries: Your Attention Please as well as in the Washington Post, on NPR, CNN, Wired, CBS This Morning, Khan Academy, Seeker, The Today Show and several local news segments, Dr. Ramsey is celebrated as an engaging science communicator. He uses this talent to make science more accessible to a broad audience. His nonprofit, The Ramsey Research Foundation, works to remove barriers that slow the progress of and decrease access to science by developing novel pathways for scientific funding and by removing paywalls that keep the public from engaging with published scientific work.
Kim Skyrm
Dr. Kim Skyrm is the Chief Apiary Inspector for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and East Director for the Apiary Inspectors of America. He holds a Ph.D. in Entomology from Oregon State University and has over 18 years of experience in pollinator research, management, and regulation. Dr. Skyrm leads statewide efforts in honey bee health surveillance, pest and disease diagnostics, beekeeper outreach, and apiary compliance. Drawing on a background in bumble bee ecology, research and commercial pollinator management, he applies a science-based, collaborative approach to inspection and education. His work focuses on strengthening partnerships between beekeepers and regulatory programs to promote sustainable beekeeping practices and long-term pollinator health.
Garett Slater
Garett Slater is the Apiculture Extension Specialist and an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University, where he leads statewide efforts to support and educate beekeepers. He coordinates the Texas Master Beekeeping Program, develops extensions resources, and provides training to help beekeepers improve colony health, management practices, and sustainable breeding efforts. His research focuses on helping beekeepers select and breed better bees across Texas.
Ian Steppler
Ian Steppler’s family farm in Manitoba Canada is a third generation farm started by Ian’s grandfather and carried forward by his parents. The farm is a collaborative undertaking to produce grain, beef, and honey. Ian bought his first 4 hives 19 years ago, but with dedication and passion is now managing 1200 to 1500 hives in his apiaries. Ian credits the current standing to those on whom he has leaned on over the years to help guide him though many management, logistical and husbandry issues. Ian is a big believer in paying it forward which motivates him to share his successes and failures with others in the beekeeping community.
Rogan Tokach
Rogan Tokach is a new assistant professor working on applied honey bee research at North Dakota State University. Rogan graduated with his PhD in 2025 from Auburn University where he studied under Dr. Geoff Williams. His research at Auburn focused on developing sustainable parasitic mite management strategies for beekeepers for both Varroa and Tropilaelaps mites. Rogan completed his MS degree at University of Nebraska-Lincoln under Dr. Autumn Smart and Dr. Judy Wu-Smart in 2022. Overall, he has 16 years of beekeeping experience at the hobbyist, research, and commercial levels.
