Profile

Michelle Flenniken is an Assistant Professor in the Plant Sciences Department at Montana State University. She is a microbiologist investigating honey bee host–pathogen interactions and Co-Director of the Pollinator Health Center at MSU.

Research Interests:

Research in the Flenniken Lab is aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying host-pathogen interactions in agriculturally important systems; including honey bees (Apis mellifera). Projects in the lab focus on five principal aspects of honey bee biology:
(1) determining the mechanisms and contributions of RNA-triggered pathways in honey bee antiviral defense,
(2) honey bee pathogen monitoring, detection and discovery with an emphasis on pathogens associated with colony losses (including CCD),
(3) investigating the pathogenesis of the recently discovered Lake Sinai viruses,
(4) understanding the influence of the individual bee microbiome, metabolome, and transcriptome on the immune response and outcome of infections, and
(5) examining the sublethal effects of agrochemicals on honey bee health. Honey bees are an excellent model in which to investigate immune mechanisms at both the individual bee and entire colony level.