PATRICE JACOB SAVI
Davis,CA
Summary
Agricultural entomologist and agronomist with over 10 years of experience in crop protection, pest management, and biological control. Proven success in designing and coordinating field and laboratory trials, collaborating with industry partners, and analyzing complex data sets to inform sustainable agricultural practices.
Overview
3
3
Languages
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Postdoctoral Research Associate | Department of Entomology & Nematology
University of California, Davis
Davis
01.2023 - Current
- Developed and evaluated innovative crop-protection approaches using pesticides, predatory mites, plasma-activated water, LED/UV-B treatments, hyperspectral/RGB imaging, and drone-based monitoring to enhance sustainable agriculture practices.
- Conducted industry-supported trials in collaboration with IR-4, BioBee, Bioline, Biotactics, Certis, growers, and other research partners to advance pest management strategies.
- Lead day-to-day experimental activities, including treatment planning, arthropod sampling, pesticide and biological-control evaluations, data collection, quality control, statistical analysis, and reporting.
- Design and coordinate field, greenhouse, and laboratory trials in crop protection, biological control, sustainable agriculture, and emerging pest-management technologies.
- Coordinated training for students and research assistants in field and laboratory protocols, ensuring proficiency in arthropod identification, sampling, data collection, and experimental procedures.
- Contribute to research proposals, budgets, project planning, manuscripts, technical updates, and presentations for scientific and stakeholder audiences.
Research Assistant / Graduate Researcher
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
, Brazil
03.2016 - 12.2022
- Supported publication of peer-reviewed research on pest population performance and plant–arthropod interactions, improving understanding of pesticide compatibility with biological-control agents.
- Coordinated experimental schedules, treatment applications, and data collection across multiple research projects, supporting thorough statistical analysis and scientific reporting.
- Conducted laboratory, greenhouse, and field studies in insect and mite pest management, host-plant resistance, biological control, pesticide selectivity, and pesticide resistance, contributing to pest control strategy development.
- Worked with faculty on experimental design and methodology development.
Trainer & Farm Supervisor
Agamandin Agricultural Project
Benin
01.2013 - 01.2015
- Supervised crop production and pest management operations while training personnel in vegetable production and crop protection practices to enhance operational effectiveness.
- Delivered hands-on training sessions on crop management techniques to new staff.
- Developed training materials for agricultural best practices and safety procedures.
- Coordinated farm activities and monitored crop and pest conditions to support timely implementation of field management decisions.
- Collaborated with team members to enhance training programs based on feedback.
Sustainable Agriculture & IPM Intern
Songhai Center
Porto-Novo, Benin
01.2012 - 09.2012
- Coordinated logistics for training sessions and seminars at the Songhai Center.
- Supported team members with research and data collection for project proposals.
IPM Coordinator
Group Vision Plantain Hevea Cocoa
Benin
01.2013
- Coordinated integrated pest-management activities in agricultural production systems, focusing on pest monitoring and informed crop-protection decisions.
- Coordinated daily operations for plantain, hevea, and cocoa production activities.
- Managed scheduling and logistics for raw material deliveries to the production line.
- Assisted in quality control processes to ensure product standards were met.
- Participated in regular meetings to discuss project status and team objectives.
Education
Ph.D. - Agricultural Entomology
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
Brazil03-2022
M.S. - Agricultural Entomology
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
Brazil02-2018
B.S. - Agronomy (Plant Production)
Université De Parakou
Benin12-2012
Skills
- Pesticide efficacy
- Crop protection
- Integrated pest management
- Experimental design
- Trial design
- Data analysis
- Field logistics
- Crop production
- Industry collaboration
- Grant development
- Scientific reporting
- Teamwork and collaboration
TITLE
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SCIENTIST | ENTOMOLOGY | CROP PROTECTION | SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
SELECTED RESEARCH & PRODUCT-DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE
Crop protection efficacy; pesticide and miticide performance, pesticide selectivity, compatibility with natural enemies, and resistance-related studies., Biological control; predator–prey studies and field evaluation of predatory mites, including commercial biological-control programs and aerial releases., Sustainable agriculture: plasma-activated water as an emerging crop-production and pest-management technology; low-risk and organic pesticide integration., Precision agriculture: hyperspectral and RGB imaging for plant stress and pest detection; drone-based crop monitoring., Controlled-environment research: LED and UV-B manipulation of pest behavior, plant responses, and biological-control interactions.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Savi, P. J. et al. Effects of timed LED regimes on tomato plant traits, performance of two-spotted spider mites, and predatory mites. Pest Management Science 81, 2300–2311 (2025).
- Savi, P. J. et al. Indirect effects of plasma-activated water irrigation on Tetranychus urticae populations. Journal of Pest Science (2024).
- Savi, P. J. et al. Compatibility of synthetic and biological pesticides with the biocontrol agent Phytoseiulus longipes. Experimental and Applied Acarology 93, 273–295 (2024).
- Nansen, C. et al. Manipulation of phototactic responses by two-spotted spider mites to improve performance of miticides. Crops 4, 568–583 (2024).
- Savi, P. J. et al. Bottom-up effects of breeding tomato genotypes on behavioral responses and performance of Tetranychus evansi. Journal of Pest Science 95, 1287–1301 (2022).
Technical skills
- R ( Statistics, data visualization)
- SAS
- Remote sensing
- Hyperspectral and RGB imaging
- Drone-based monitoring
- Two-sex life table analysis
Languages
French
Native/ Bilingual
Portuguese
Full Professional
English
Full Professional
GRANT, PROPOSAL & FUNDED PROJECT EXPERIENCE
USDA-NIFA (2023–2026), Senior/Key Personnel — $999,997 multi-state project on frontier technologies for organic tomato production., Western SARE Research & Education (2024–2027), Co-PI — $348,671 project integrating plasma-activated water with low-risk and organic pesticides., American Floral Endowment (2024–2026), Research contributor — $145,147 project on integrated management of western flower thrips in greenhouse ornamentals., FAEESP Postdoctoral Grant (2022), Brazil — R$238,851.36 awarded., Experience contributing to research concepts, proposal development, experimental plans, budgets, project updates, and partner coordination.
Timeline
Postdoctoral Research Associate | Department of Entomology & Nematology
University of California, Davis
01.2023 - Current
Research Assistant / Graduate Researcher
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
03.2016 - 12.2022
Trainer & Farm Supervisor
Agamandin Agricultural Project
01.2013 - 01.2015
IPM Coordinator
Group Vision Plantain Hevea Cocoa
01.2013
Sustainable Agriculture & IPM Intern
Songhai Center
01.2012 - 09.2012
Ph.D. - Agricultural Entomology
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
M.S. - Agricultural Entomology
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
B.S. - Agronomy (Plant Production)
Université De Parakou