Researchers
Email: [email protected]
Miranda Barnes
I am a PhD student interested in the genetic underpinnings of insect-microbe symbioses. For my master’s with the Forest Entomology Lab, I completed two projects: 1) conducting genomic and transcriptomic analyses of the Xylosandrus crassiusculus mycangium and 2) developing a database for efficient tracking and storage of information related to bark beetle fungal cultures and molecular material. I am currently working on RNAseq projects centering around the mycangia of southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) and Euplatypus compositus, as well as transforming the fungal symbiont of X. crassiusculus for loss-of-function experiments.
Education and Experience
- 2025 – Present: Ph.D. in Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida
- 2023 – 2025: M.S. in Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida
- 2020 – 2023: Research Assistant, Center for Vector Biology, Rutgers University
- 2019– 2023: B.S. in Microbiology, Entomology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University
- 2019: Summer Intern, Biocomplexity Institute, University of Virginia
Barnes, M. & Hulcr, J. DIY LIMS: customizing a simple sample processing database for a low-tech, high-throughput symbiosis laboratory. Symbiosis (in revision).
Barnes, M. From forest to fungus: a roadmap to bark beetle mycobiome research – Optimizing data input for tree-beetle-fungus molecular pipelines. Phytoparasitica 53, 45 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-025-01246-x
Barnes M. & Hulcr, J. (2025). EPPO Datasheet: Harringtonia lauricola. EPPO Bull, 55: 229-235. https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.70001
Barnes M., & Hulcr, J. (2025). Twig girdler: Oncideres spp. (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Onciderini). EDIS – UF/IFAS Extension. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1446
Barnes, M. M., Mohamed Moustafa, M. A., Wagner, N. E., & Price, D. C. (2025). The complete genome of a Serratia marcescens strain isolated from mosquito excreta. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 14(11), e00743-25.