Jay Evans is Research Leader at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Bee Research Lab in Beltsville, MD, where he has worked for nearly 20 years. The BRL is focused on the development of management strategies to help honey bees thrive in the face of disease, chemical stress, and inadequate forage. Lab members are developing and testing new nutritional and anti-disease products, and are especially interested in how bees respond to multiple stress factors and the efforts beekeepers might use to help them through these challenges.
Jay’s own research uses genetic techniques and controlled challenge experiments (often bees in cups) to reduce the impacts of parasites and pathogens. Current projects involve honey bee immunity, interactions among stress factors, and the development of novel, safe, controls for mites and viruses. Jay received his AB in Biology from Princeton University in 1988 and his PhD in Biology from the University of Utah in 1995.