Anh is a Gaginang that was born in Vietnam and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Anh graduated with her Ph.D. in entomology in the winter of 2021. Her research focused on determining whether the spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), an invasive fly pest survives the harsh Minnesota winters by overwintering or migrating to the state each spring from warmer regions. Anh tackled this question by evaluating SWD’s flight behaviors in laboratory and field settings. She utilized fixed-wing planes, passive traps, and validated degree-days models to understand SWD winter survival strategies. Results from her studies documents that the pest may be capable of both behaviors. These results are significant for developing tactics for suppressing the pest in its overwintering habitats or aligning management strategies to spring migrations.
In 2011, Anh earned her B.A. in Biology from Hiram, College. Afterwards, she worked for an environmental consultant company that released the biological control agent, the milfoil weevil, against Eurasian watermilfoil throughout the United States and Canada. She then moved to Minnesota and worked in a biocontrol research lab. Anh's previous experiences with using insects as biocontrol agents sparked her interest to pursue a graduate career in entomology. In 2016, Anh received her master’s degree in entomology at the University of Minnesota studying conservation biocontrol of the soybean aphid.
