About

Michelle Heck is a Research Molecular Biologist at USDA-ARS Robert W. Holley Center and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute. Her research group focuses on vector biology, utilizing molecular, genetic, and proteomics approaches to understand how insects transmit plant pathogens and how these pathogens manipulate host plants to ensure their replication and transmission. A key area of her work involves developing new pest management tools to enhance cultural control and to create innovative strategies for managing insect vector-borne diseases in plants. Her research aims to advance fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture, particularly in understanding the interactions among plant pathogens, insect vectors, and plant hosts.

Research topics

• Ecology
• Genetics
• Computational biology
• Biotechnology
• Biology

Selected publications

• Additional file 3 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  otherOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 3.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 8 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 8.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 14 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 14.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 1 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  otherOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 1.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 3 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  otherOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 3.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 10 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  otherOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 10.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 12 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 12.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 11 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 11.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 7 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 7.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 13 of Rapid and reproducible haplotyping of complete mitochondrial genomes using split k-mers

  Figshare · 2026-04-11

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  Supplementary Material 13.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Protein interaction topologies regulating virus transmission by insect vectors

  NSF · $800k · 2014–2019

Frequent coauthors

• Stacy L. DeBlasio

  Agricultural Research Service

  163 shared

• John S. Ramsey

  Agricultural Research Service

  154 shared

• Lukas A. Mueller

  Cornell University

  94 shared

• Surya Saha

  Ithaca College

  94 shared

• Stewart M. Gray

  Agricultural Research Service

  78 shared

• Marina Mann

  Cornell University

  78 shared

• Jennifer R. Wilson

  75 shared

• Angela Kruse

  Vanderbilt University

  70 shared

Education

• Key Executive Leadership Program, Experienced Leaders

  American University

  2022

• PhD, Jackson Laboratory

  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

  2005

• B.A, Biology

  Boston University

  1999