While most people try to keep cockroaches out of their lives, two UC Riverside doctoral students, Rattanan Chungsawat and Emily Ta, are being recognized for their research on them.

Chungsawat and Ta have been named recipients of the 2025 Alate Award, a national honor presented by the Entomological Society of America (ESA). The award supports students from minority-serving institutions and will allow them to attend the society’s annual meeting this November in Portland, Oregon.

Both students work in the lab of Chow-Yang Lee, UCR entomology professor and Endowed Presidential Chair in Urban Entomology, whose research focuses on improving pest management in homes, schools, and public spaces.

Chungsawat, who grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, is developing low-cost, low-toxicity methods for controlling the German cockroach, a species that quickly builds resistance to common insecticides. His work is aimed at improving pest management for low-income communities that are disproportionately affected by them.

“Urban insects have a greater impact on us than people realize,” Chungsawat said. “Sure, not everyone shares my excitement about them, but studying these insects is about improving people’s quality of life. Retired UCR entomology professor Dr. Mike Rust said it best: these insects do bad things, that’s why we do research.”

Beyond his cockroach dissertation, Chungsawat conducts fieldwork on termites, bed bugs, and pest ants. He mentors undergraduate researchers and helps organize events for the department’s graduate student association.

Ta’s path to entomology was unexpected. She had planned to go into medicine but changed course after enrolling in Lee’s introductory entomology course during her final undergraduate quarter. What began as curiosity has become a career.

Now as a doctoral student, her research focuses on how German cockroaches behave when exposed to gel baits, which are the most commonly used treatments against them. She is also active in outreach, working to shift public perceptions of cockroaches, break the negative stigma around them, and raise awareness of their role in human environments.

Not all species of cockroaches are considered pests. Only 30 out of 4,300 species of cockroaches are considered urban pests. The majority are beautiful insects, and some can make nice, if unconventional pets.

“I’m happy to have found a home for research and teaching in urban entomology,” Ta said. “One of my goals that will extend beyond graduate school is to continue spreading admiration of urban insects from a biological and evolutionary perspective, particularly German cockroaches because of their ability to adapt and survive.”

She has co-authored a study on a new insecticide ingredient and holds student leadership roles in both the ESA and UCR’s graduate student community.

Named after the winged form some insects take during their life cycle, the Alate Award recognizes students who show strong potential in the field. The ESA, founded in 1889, is the world’s largest organization of insect scientists, with nearly 7,000 members.

Chungsawat and Ta are two of five graduate students from around the country to win the award this year. While the award is a national nod to their work, the society is not the only place to praise them. 

‘Both Emily and Rattanan are extremely dedicated and highly motivated in their research,” said Lee, their supervisor. “I bet they wake up every morning, looking forward to coming to the lab.”