'Rhabdias conni' The worm species named after a Berry College professor

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February 24, 2017: Professor Bruce Conn has been appointed to the European Science Foundation College of Reviewers.

Credit: Brant Sanderlin/Berry College

A team of scientists based in Ukraine, South Africa, and the U.S. recently published about discovering a new worm species in the Journal of Parasitology. It's named after a Berry College professor, one of Georgia's best private schools in Rome.

Rhabdias Conni is a species of parasitic worm that lives within frogs' lungs. The species name honors Berry college professor David Bruce Conn.

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Rhabdias Conni, the parasitic worm species found in the lungs of frogs.

Credit: Courtesy of Professor David Bruce Conn

Conn is a professor of biology with a research interest in invertebrate zoology, entomology, and parasitology. 

Berry College's bio on him states that his research program covers "parasitic and other infectious diseases, insect disease vectors, and invertebrate invasive species that cause environmental problems around the world."

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October 26, 2022. Biology students Peyton Reed, left, and Callista (Calleigh) Reber, collect aquatic matter with Biology Professor David Bruce Conn, right, during an entomology lab.

Credit: Brant Sanderlin/ Berry College

"The name was designated to honor Conn's contributions to the field of parasitology over many years and also recognizes his role in collecting the specimens at Berry," per a press release from Berry College.

Conn spent years serving as the president of the American Society of Parasitologists, an officer for several international scientific societies, and a part of the editorial boards of a few parasitology journals.

The scientific article states that the first known specimens of the parasitic worm were collected from Berry College's campus in 2009.