His doctoral work in Cornell University’s Department of Neurobiology and Behavior was
supervised by Professor Tom Seeley. His dissertation research focused on the
transmission of mites between bee colonies, as well as the mite-resistance traits of the
untreated honey bees living in Cornell’s Arnot Forest. After earning his degree, he
conducted additional fieldwork in Newfoundland, Canada (where varroa still have not
arrived) and Madagascar (where varroa arrived only in 2010 or 2011). He served as a
Teaching postdoctoral fellow in Cornell’s Department of Entomology, and maintains an
affiliation with Cornell through the Honey Bee Health program of the College of
Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Peck has kept bees for more than a decade, though his home apiary is often full of
mite-riddled research colonies so he doesn’t usually produce much honey.
Since 2024, he has served as the Academic Advisor for the Eastern Apicultural
Society’s Certified Master Beekeeper program, the oldest such program in the country.