Title: PhD Student, Entomology
Employer: Purdue University, College of Agriculture

After graduating with his BS in Integrative Biology in 2015, Thor went directly to graduate school in Entomology. As a kid he was fixated on insects and has intentionally expanded on his interest in insects to understand how they impact the natural world.

“The knowledge gained through my IB degree made me much more conscious of how my actions, and society’s as a whole, affect the natural world. And from a professional standpoint, while I still do work with insects, I have pushed outside my comfort zone. I am much more interested in the questions I can ask and research I can do in a system instead of the organisms I can work with.”

Thor got his master’s degree in Entomology in 2017 at the University of Kentucky at Lexington working with Dr. Jennifer White on insect ecology. He is currently a PhD student at Purdue University under Dr. Laramy Enders. His research focuses on the microbiomes of monarch butterflies and different milkweed species. More specifically, he employs molecular techniques to understand if the toxic chemicals of milkweeds have an effect on the microbiomes associated with the plant and the insect.

“My PhD, so far, has been hard but rewarding! One really large benefit in joining a brand-new lab is that there are no ongoing projects or open grants when you start. I have largely determined and developed my own research project.”

“It was through networking at a meeting during my masters that I got in touch with my current advisor. Meeting her was the rare case of actually getting to talk with the scientists you admire while reading manuscripts. She had just received a position as an assistant professor at Purdue University and was looking for her first PhD student. It was a perfect opportunity for me as our research interests aligned really well and I personally wanted to experience what it was like running a brand-new lab as I am interested in pursuing research as a career myself.”

If you are interested in pursuing graduate school, a career in research, or an entomology career Thor would be a great person to talk to. Contact Christina Swanson at alumnimentor@sib.illinois.edu if you would like to connect with Thor.