Tamara J. Cook, Biology professor at Sam Houston State University, will give the annual Honors Program lecture “Much Ado about Gregarines... a Tale of Parasite Biodiversity,” at 8 p.m. March 1 in McDaniel Lounge.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call (410) 857-2294.

Cook conducted a biosurvey and diversity study on the parasites, their insect hosts, and ecosystems in the Big Thicket reserves as part of a grant from the Research for Undergraduate Institutions, and partially funded by the National Science Foundation. She has relied on student involvement for the project, called “Collaborative Research: Microbiological Survey and Inventory of Gregarines Parasitizing Aquatic and Riparian Insects of the Texas Big Thicket.”

Cook, who has authored 18 publications, is currently editor of Comparative Parasitology, the peer-reviewed journal published by the Helminthological Society of Washington. She has participated in conferences including those sponsored by American Society of Parasitologists, American Microscopical Society, Helminthological Society of Washington, Society of Protozoologists, Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, Southwestern Association of Naturalists, Sigma Xi, and Texas Academy of Science.

Cook has taught Biology at Sam Houston State University since 1999, during which time she has served as a research adviser, thesis director, and graduate committee member for more than 20 undergraduate and graduate students.

Cook earned her Ph.D. at Texas A&M, and her B.S. and M.S. from the University of Nebraska.

The lecture is sponsored by the McDaniel College Honors Program, a four-year program established by the faculty in 1986 to provide a more challenging education for academically talented students.