It’s a mouthful for most of us to say “entomopathogenic fungi” out loud. But not for Larissa Barelli, a doctoral student in Brock’s Biotechnology program and recipient of a prestigious 2015 Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Her scientific vocabulary rolls out with enthusiasm — and passion — along with a knack for explaining the complexities of her research interest and what motivates her as a researcher.

“I believe that some of us are born to ask the question why, to question the mechanics of life and how we can improve upon them, and solve the problems that affect the world around us,” she says. “Every researcher has their niche that they carve out for themselves, and I want the opportunity to contribute my piece to the larger puzzle.”

Barelli has found her piece of the puzzle working with her supervisor, Professor Michael Bidochka, and his world-renowned research team. The group studies entomopathogenic fungal species that not only kill insects but are also plant symbionts — meaning they have an association with plants that contribute to the health of the plant.

This type of fungus, explains Barelli, typically infects insects and kills them by physically invading the insect’s body and then the fungus feeds insect nutrients to plants.

“These fungal species are invaders of a wide variety of insects. For example, they’ve been used to combat malaria and crop pests,” she explains. “The fungus takes nitrogen from the insects it destroys and gives it to plants. It’s a naturally occurring biopesticide that has two-fold benefits. First, it kills insects. Then, it transfers nutrients, that are not naturally available, to the plant.”

Larissa Barelli

The NSERC funding will provide Barelli with $35,000 per year for three years as she takes a specific focus on the plant-health side of the process by studying the mechanisms through which the fungus exchanges nutrients to the plant.

“An example of an area I find interesting is in trying to better understand gene expression of this fungus, manipulation of these genes, and creating mutants to allow us to develop crop-pest-specific strains,” she explains.

The group will work in conjunction with Professor Doug Bruce and his team to measure connections with the efficiency of the photosystem II of the plant.

The bottom line is that it promotes plant health.

“The impact this information will have on the agricultural community is huge,” says Barelli. “To be able to promote plant health, increase stress tolerance in crop species, and integrate a form of pest control all through one association would redefine food production and the agricultural industry. As this area is in desperate need of help to address crop losses and growing populations, I am eager to contribute research in this field.”

As an example of crop losses, she cites the devastation caused by locust swarms.

“Locusts, depending on the size of swarms, can wipeout entire fields of crops such as rice, corn and wheat,” she says. “If we can introduce a fungus in the soil— at a ecosystem level — we can infect the insect larvae before they develop into adults and reduce numbers significantly. At the same time, the fungus can provide the plant access to soil-limited resources and help plants tolerate abiotic stress, such as salinity. The bottom line is that it promotes plant health.”

Barelli, 30, first came to Brock as an undergraduate student in biomedical studies. She also completed her master’s degree under the supervision of Bidochka, with a research focus in the area of gene expression.

Prior to her PhD studies, Barelli worked for two years at Entomogen INC, a St. Catharines based company established in 1999 by Brock Professor Fiona Hunter and Bidochka, as the West Nile virus diagnostics lab manager. At the same time, she was a research assistant for Hunter, overseeing undergraduate and master’s students and assisting with the set up of the Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory in Brock’s Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex.

“Over those two years I came to realize that I wanted to do my own research and develop my own procedures,” she says. “I think the combination of work experience and studies has broadened my research skills. I’ve changed research directions as I’ve moved along and it has allowed me to transfer skills from one area to another.

Barelli is also a big proponent of graduate students finding a balance between the intensity of research and life in general. She takes time away from the lab to play ultimate frisbee at Brock, one of the University’s newest club sports, and to rock climb.

“I’ve had many good role models at Brock, one being Scott Behie who defended his PhD thesis recently and is now in California doing his post doc. Scott always emphasized the importance of setting time outside of research. It’s so true. You need to work at being a well-rounded person.”