Joe Louis (’11 Ph.D.) is studying how sorghum, one of the world’s most valuable crops, can resist sugarcane aphids, one of its most persistent pests. A professor of entomology and biochemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Louis earned a National Science Foundation CAREER grant for his research in 2018, through which he’s working to understand the sorghum innate defense mechanisms against aphids that will enable the development of novel pest management strategies. The results from his research could provide a broader framework to enhance knowledge on interactions of aphids with other significant cereal crops. While at UNT, Louis worked on molecular and biochemical aspects of plant-insect interactions under the mentorship of University Distinguished Research Professor Jyoti Shah in the Department of Biological Sciences.