AGRO Fellow Awards

Cheryl B. Cleveland holds a B.S. in chemistry from Furman University in South Carolina and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Cornell University. For the last 7 years, Cheryl has been employed at BASF in RTP, North Carolina, within the Global Consumer Safety Group; before that she was a long-term employee at Dow AgroSciences in the Midwest.

Her 31-year career within the agricultural industry spans roles ranging from the conduct of GLP environmental chemistry studies, development of sales force technical product training, internal quality control as a Six Sigma black belt, evaluation of global commodity trade patterns relative to MRLs, and the important application of risk assessment principles for human health for various agencies around the globe. Most of her career experiences have focused on traditional agricultural active ingredients, but have also included projects on animal vaccines, biotech traits, and commodity chemicals.

Cheryl has been privileged to serve on multiple external committees and enjoys working collaboratively within the scientific community. She chaired the CropLife Dietary Team for several years and has been an active member in several other committees within CropLife International, ECPA (European Crop Protection Association), and CropLife America, and is a member of the CARES NG (Cumulative and Aggregate Risk Evaluation System Next Generation) technical team. A career highlight was serving two terms as an industry appointee to EPA’s Pesticide Dialogue Program Panel and subcommittees.

Within AGRO, Cheryl has held positions as an Executive committee member at large, vice chair, program chair and is the current AGRO Division Chair, and she is an active member of the AGRO 50th GALA planning team. Additionally, she has played a key role in development of the inaugural VIP event in 2018 and has co-organized multiple AGRO symposia focusing on a wide range of emerging issues within the agrochemical sciences including sustainability, climate change, and pollinator topics and human health risk assessment for agricultural products or innovations.

Aaron D. Gross is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the Department of Entomology. Originally from Minnesota, he received his Bachelor of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences from St. Cloud State University (minor in Criminal Justice). Graduate training was performed at Iowa State University of Science and Technology in Toxicology (M.S. and Ph.D.) with minors in Neuroscience and Entomology; Joel Coats and Michael Kimber served as his graduate major professors. Postdoctoral training was at the Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, under the direction of Jeffrey Bloomquist.

At Virginia Tech, Aaron is affiliated with the School of Neuroscience, Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech’s Center for Emerging Zoonotic and Vector-borne Pathogens, and the Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery. He teaches Insecticide Toxicology along with Insect Physiology and Molecular Biology. Aaron’s lab (Molecular Physiology and Toxicology Laboratory) focuses on controlling arthropod pests that have an impact on human health, animal health, and agriculture with the goal of helping growers, producers, and public/animal health officials make informed pest control decisions. Research interests include understanding the molecular mechanisms that are involved in insecticide/acaricide resistance, and the use of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), GPCR-related pathways, and ion channels as targets for insecticide/acaricide development. His lab is also investigating the molecular mechanisms that are involved in tick-associated red meat allergy and the ability of ticks to evade the mammalian immune response during blood feeding.

Aaron has been a member of the American Chemical Society since he was an undergraduate student and has been active in the AGRO Division since graduate school (2007). Aaron was the recipient of the 2016 AGRO New Investigator Award for work on insect muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. To date, he has co-organized eight symposia in the division and co-edited three symposium series books. Aaron’s services to the division include serving as a member of the 2016 Strategic Planning Committee, the Executive Committee to which he is recently reelected, the Long-term Programming Committee, and co-chairing the Early Career Scientists Committee.

Heidi B. Irrig earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Merrimack College and a Master of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Beginning her agrochemical experience determining pesticide levels in soils and water in support of the new agrochemical registration process, Heidi currently works at Syngenta to advance U.S. growers’ trade of crops treated with agricultural chemicals.

As a member and active volunteer for the AGRO Division since 2012, Heidi has contributed to the development and execution of the mission of AGRO by serving on numerous committees. Elected to the Executive Committee in 2016 and 2019, she is currently serving her second term as an Executive Committee Officer. By acting as a co-organizer to younger chemists eager to participate in the AGRO meetings, Heidi has extended her expertise in organizing symposiums to new members.

In addition to serving as a co-organizer, speaker, and workshop moderator for numerous symposia, she and John Johnston worked together on an Innovative Program Grant (IPG) in 2017. Their full day symposium entitled Pesticide Registration, Monitoring, and Enforcement: The Big Picture was condensed and presented to Congress. This presentation increased Congressional staffers’ understanding of U.S. government processes to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of pesticides in the U.S. food supply.

In 2019, Heidi’s IPG to promote advancements in agriculture as part of the AGRO 50th anniversary was approved. Heidi’s team is currently focusing on organizing an agricultural tour at the Fall 2021 AGRO meeting in Atlanta.

Past Awardees