Assistant Professor Johnalyn Gordon
Dr Johnalyn Gordon is one of the up and coming researchers in the field of urban entomology and pest management.
Currently, an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Centre, Dr Gordon is building her research programs.
Dr Gordon is also active as an instructor on a number educational programs for students and pest professionals, covering various aspects of structural pest management, including the UF Termite Course for Professionals and the UF School of Structural Fumigation.
Current Position
Dr Johnalyn Gordon, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Centre.
Experience
Dr Gordon has over 10 years of experience in urban entomology research. She has been an invited speaker at numerous local, statewide, and national conferences, including a recent invitation to speak on the importance of critical inspections for Coptotermes at the U.S. National Pest Management Association’s PestWorld in 2025.
Interests
Dr. Gordon’s research and extension programs focus on the biology, behaviour and management of structural pests, including cockroaches, bed bugs, and termites, with a particular focus on their impact on human health.
Dr. Gordon is passionate about collaborating with other researchers and pest management professionals, using data-based and pioneering solutions to solve stakeholder problems related to urban pest management.
She has a particular passion for fieldwork, whether working in municipal parks in south Florida surveying for termites, or in multi-family apartment housing, helping residents towards having the cockroach-free home they deserve.
Qualifications & Awards
Education:
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Kentucky – where she researched the health impacts of bed bugs and applied cockroach management.
Masters of Science, University of Florida – focused on termite chemical ecology and bait effiicacy.
Awards:
- Larry Larson Award for Leadership in Applied Entomology
- Shripat Kamble Award for Innovative Research in Urban Entomology from the Entomological Society of America
- 2025 Reader’s Choice Runner Up (Journal of Economic Entomology)
- Based on downloads and engagement (indicating an interesting research paper of high relevance)
- Common consumer residual insecticides lack efficacy against insecticide-susceptible and resistant populations of the German cockroach (Blattodea: Ectobiidae)
Publications
Dr Gordon has already start to build an impressive list of publications covering the behaviour, biology and management of termites, cockroaches, bed bugs and ants.