Louise Petit is a PhD student at the University of Florida’s Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory (HBREL). She receives a master’s degree in Bioengineering from France. During her undergraduate and master, she gained research experience in honey bee health, working on a project related to the molecular epidemiology of Paenibacillus larvae (the causative agent of American foulbrood) at ANSES Sophia Antipolis, as well as a study on the effects of Nosema infection, poor nutrition, and Varroa destructor on the honey bee proteome at BioPark Archamps.
Introduced to HBREL as a visiting scholar during her master, she developed an interest in honey bee toxicology research. Her PhD projects focus on the chemical control of Varroa destructor.