We are pleased to announce that our Cedar Grove Research Station in Mebane, North Carolina, will become the new Pollinator Center of Excellence in the U.S. Previously located in Florida, the pollinator laboratory will be relocated to North Carolina to provide a centralized and robust facility for all pollinator ecotoxicity and residue testing.
In a move that will further strengthen the EAS pollinator ecotoxicology study program and combine leading expertise in one location, the Cedar Grove facility will provide all tiers of pollinator ecotoxicity testing for EPA core studies. Cedar Grove will be expending apiaries for quality honeybee hives that are dedicated to both lab and field studies. This change will further bolster Cedar Grove’s status as a market leader in pollinator and NTO testing and add to the comprehensive portfolio of pollinator studies already encompassing ecotoxicology, specialty studies, insect and vector control, formulation screening, and lab, greenhouse and field studies.
Simultaneously, we are pleased to announce Dr. Ellis Johnson as the new Laboratory Manager for Specialty Studies, with Dr. Chris Fellows as the new Pollinator Study Lead and John Porch continuing as a remote Study Director.
As Laboratory Manager for Specialty Studies, Ellis will be leading the terrestrial arthropods toxicology Tier I studies including pollinators and non-target insects. Ellis earned his Ph.D. in Entomology with a focus on insect toxicology and physiology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Ellis spent two years conducting fundamental toxicological studies in both pest and beneficial insect systems during his post-doctorate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before joining EAS in 2024 as a senior scientist at the Cedar Grove Research Station. Ellis also has years of field and greenhouse experience with pest management in a variety of systems including veterinary pests, lepidopterans, and hemipterans.
As the new Pollinator Study Lead, Chris will oversee higher tier pollinator studies. Chris joined Eurofins in 2014 as a Research Technician/Apiculturist, working on honeybee risk assessment studies. He began his graduate education in 2017 at Louisiana State University AgCenter, where he specialized in insecticide toxicology and molecular physiology, with specific interest in the influence of herbicide exposure on insecticide residues and the development of antiviral therapeutics for honeybee colonies. Chris rejoined the EAS team in 2023 as a Principal Field Investigator before progressing to Study Director.
The Cedar Grove Research Station collaborates closely with our supporting network of field research centers located in Lafayette, IN; Sanger, CA; and Research For Hire in Porterville, CA. The EAS Field Research team provides a comprehensive suite of greenhouse, semi-field, and field studies, including field efficacy, GLP residue, dissipation, pollinator testing and worker exposure studies.