Biography
Originally from Nepal, I earned Bachelor of Agricultural Science from Tribhuvan University in 2004. From there, I joined a Nepalese agricultural non-governmental organization (LI-BIRD) as an Extension Field Coordinator to work with home gardening programs focused on vegetable farming and integrated pest management (IPM) programs. The home gardening program built the resilience and self-sufficiency in the community that is still operating in 2023.
After working for four years in Nepal, I received a full scholarship from Aarhus University, Denmark, to pursue M.S. in Agrobiology with specialization in entomology, and I graduated in 2011. In 2012, I was awarded for Ph.D. scholarship from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Aarhus University. My Ph.D. research was focused on finding alternative biological control methods against lettuce aphids, using predators, parasitoids, and fungal pathogens and I graduated in 2015. From there I came to the United States in 2016 to work in the Field Crop Entomology Lab as a post-doctoral research associate with Dr. Gadi VP Reddy at Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center (WTARC), Montana State University, MT. I was at WTARC for three years (2016-2018). In 2019, I joined as a post-doctoral researcher at Oregon State University -Hermiston Agriculture Research and Extension Center and worked with Dr. Silvia I. Rondon in the Irrigated Agricultural Entomology Program for two years. In 2021, I accepted a faculty position as a Statewide Hemp Extension Specialist with OSU. I am located at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center, Central Point, OR.
In my personal life, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, gardening, playing Nepalese instruments (guitar and madal), and playing sports including Table tennis, Volleyball, and Basketball.
