Graduate student

Congrats to Vicky Suarez-Ulloa on completing a great PhD!!!

Posted by | DNA, Epigenetics, FIU, Graduate student, Marine Biology, Omics, Oysters, Red Tides, Research, Toxicology | No Comments

Victoria Suarez-Ulloa defended her PhD dissertation last week with perfect scores!, this completes a very productive stage in her academic trajectory with 10 papers published, several presentations in international conferences and most importantly, a postdoctoral position already lined up in Europe to continue working with population epigenomics. Vicky, we’re really proud of you and wish you the best for the future!!!

InWE/MERI Award for Victoria Suarez-Ulloa

Posted by | Awards, FIU, Graduate student, Marine Biology | No Comments

Vicky Suarez-Ulloa is on an end of year winning streak! after getting a Dissertation Year Fellowship last month, she has been presented with the outstanding InWE-MERI grad student award (FIU’s Institute of Water and Environment, Marine Education and Research Initiative). Congratulations Vicky, on track to defend your Ph.D. dissertation this summer!!!

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Back from SETAC world 2017 in Orlando

Posted by | Conference, DNA, Epigenetics, Graduate student, Marine Biology, Oysters, Red Tides, Research, Toxicology | No Comments

Last week we had the chance of participating in a session focused on environmental epigenetics in the world congress of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. It was really great to see so many people interested in using epigenetic approaches to address environmental problems, involving a wide range of new model organisms encompassing environmental and ecological relevance. From our side, we presented works investigating the epigenetic modifications involved in responses to Florida Red tides in Eastern oysters (talk by Dr. Eirin-Lopez), the different genetic networks activated during responses (Victoria Suarez-Ulloa) as well as the first results from our most recent efforts to elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms underlying coral responses to nutrient stress in the ocean (Javier Rodriguez-Casariego). Overall, we left with a great feeling and looking forward to see environmental epigenetics grow and its links with ecology, toxicoloy and physiology being further explored in the future!img_4039

New Ph.D. student Javier Rodriguez Casariego joins Chromevol next fall

Posted by | Epigenetics, FIU, Genetics, Graduate student, Marine Biology, Oysters, Red Tides, Toxicology | No Comments

Javier graduated from the University of Havana, Cuba (B.S. Biology, 2008; M.S. Marine Biology, 2012) and has worked as a research scientist for the Marine Research Center at this institution until his transition to FIU. During the last 2 years he acted as senior research technician for FIU’s Ecotoxicology Laboratory before joining the Biology Graduate program. Javier is already participating in several Chromevol projects examining environmental epigenetic responses in marine invertebrates. His collaboration has been instrumental for the simulation of HAB episodes using Eastern oysters last summer (he presented preliminary results about this work in the Biosymposium last month), as well as for the analysis of coral samples exposed to nutrient loading. Those preliminary results will constitute the conceptual basis for his Ph.D. project. Welcome!!!

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Meet new graduate student Andria Beal

Posted by | Education, Epigenetics, FIU, Graduate student, Marine Biology, Research | No Comments

We have a new Ph.D. student joining us next fall!!! We are excited to welcome Andria Beal to the group! Andria got her Bachelors of Science in Biology at Tarleton State University (2014) and will be getting her Masters of Science in Biology from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, this spring. Andria is already working on the outline of her Ph.D. project, involving sharks, stable isotopes and epigenetics. Really cool stuff! Welcome to sunny Florida Andria!

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