Max Scott Email & Phone Number

In January 2010 I moved from Massey University (New Zealand) to North Carolina State University to further develop my ideas on genetic biocontrol of insect pests. Over the past decade we have developed male-only strains of some major agricultural pests including the New World screwworm, the Australian sheep blowfly and spotted wing Drosophila. The strains can be used to enhance sterile insect control programs as these are more efficient if only males are released. Population suppression can also be achieved by releasing fertile males carrying the dominant female lethal gene, as we have shown with lab cage populations of spotted wing Drosophila. We are also working on potentially more efficient genetic suppression technologies such as homing gene drive. I graduated from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 1980 with a first class honours degree in Biochemistry. My PhD was in molecular cell biology from Baylor College of Medicine. After postdoctoral research on Drosophila and medfly genetics at the University of North Carolina, Emory University and the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Greece), I took up a lectureship position in genetics at Massey University.

Listed skills include Transgenic Insect, Genetic Pest Management, Molecular Biology, Science, and 3 others.