Dr Wendy Gelernter is the owner of PACE Consulting, an internationally recognized leader in research, extension and agronomic services in support of implementation of integrated pest management strategies for both crop and urban agriculture. PACE hosts an award-winning multimedia information service that provides agronomic guidance to turf managers, as well as an online, citizen science venue where end-users are encouraged to publish and share their research results. Dr. Gelernter also works with international aid projects, government agencies and industry to support development, implementation and commercialisation of microbial control products.

Prior to her work with PACE, Dr. Gelernter was the Director of Biopesticide Development for Mycogen Corporation, a role that involved direction of field research, entomology, regulatory, quality assurance and product management functions. While there, she oversaw the commercialisation of nine new biopesticide products, including the first genetically engineered microbial insecticide registered in the U.S.

Dr Gelernter is a past-President of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology, an interdisciplinary scientific society that draws together basic and applied scientists in the discipline of invertebrate pathology.

Dr Gelernter received her B.S. from Cornell University in Agricultural Science (1976) and her Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of California, Riverside (1984), where she characterised the biology, genetics and field efficacy of insect nuclear polyhedrosis viruses.