Robyn Underwood, Ph.D.

Dr. Robyn Underwood was born and raised in Pennsylvania. She studied Entomology and Applied Ecology for her BSc from the University of Delaware, Newark, DE, where she fell in love with honey bees and beekeeping while taking a course in Apidology with Dewey Caron. She went on to study honey bees further by researching the use of formic acid to control parasitic mites in colonies kept indoors for the winter at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where she obtained her PhD. She returned to PA and continued conducting applied research while working as an Assistant Professor of Biology at Kutztown University, and later as an Assistant Research Professor at Penn State University, University Park, PA. Her research and extension work has allowed her to interact with the large network of beekeepers from across the commonwealth, as stakeholders, advisors, and students.  Robyn is very excited to have joined Penn State Extension in 2022, where she continues to engage with the beekeepers in PA and beyond while conducting applied research.