POOJA SHARMA is a PhD student at the FLIES Facility, specializing in entomology and sustainable agriculture. She
holds a BSc in Biology (2016) and a Bachelor’s in Education (2020) from Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Bikaner, India, as well as a MS in Zoology with a specialization in Entomology (2018) from Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Shekhawati University, Sikar, India. Her research explores the use of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) as part of a sustainable (i.e., bio-economical) in farm systems. Specifically, she will be examining the ability of black soldier fly larvae to recycle substrates, such as poultry litter and aflatoxin contaminated peanut. She will also examine the use of resulting frasses on the production of plants and the associated soil health.