Sheina’s research interests include the analysis of phenotypic variation with modern genomic and bioinformatic tools and its application to population eradication, suppression, and management of agricultural tephritid fruit fly pests. In her last five years, her projects have involved the genetic mapping of traits that facilitate the male-only release of tropical and neotropical tephritid fruit flies in the genera Anastrepha, Bactrocera, Ceratitis, and Zeugodacus to implement the sterile insect technique. Her dissertation research focused on the integration of field biological research, behavioral assays, and microsatellite genotyping to investigate the recent detection and host associations of the temperate fruit fly Rhagoletis pomonella in the western United States. In the future, she plans to continue to conduct applied biological and genomic research for the protection of agricultural crops.
